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LIBRARY OF^CONGRESS. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 






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OR 



Eccnoiny in Fseding Farm Stock. 



Relating the experience of the Author, and (jiving the latent 
and most economical methods of Suntmer and 
Winter Feeding by the system 
of Soilinq. 



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D, 



If 



-BY- 



^-^ 



F:^f PEER, • 

EAST PALMYRA, N. Y. 



PUBLISHED BY THE AUTI^^ 




ROCHESTER, N. Y.: 
HERVEY H. SMITH, PRINTER, 117 AND 119 WEST MAIN STREET. 

1882. — 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in tbe year 1882, by 

FRANK S. PEER, 
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 









1^ 



DEDICATION 



To the farmers^ sons of America this book is dedicated, with 
the best wishes of the Author, and in the hope that 
they may find within its pages both the 
inclination and the encouragement to 
« pursue agriculture as a business, instead of leav- 
ing the farm for some so-called ^^ higher'^ profession. 



INTRODUCTION 



^O the intelligent farmer, who keeps abreast of the 
<^times by the perusal of one or more good agri- 
cultural papers, there is little need of an introduc- 
tion to the subject of soiling. He is already fa- 
miliar with the subject and requires no formal pre- 
sentation of what this book contains. To any 
others who may chance to peruse these pages, I 
will say that the work is designed to answer the 
perplexing questions, how can a farmer enrich his 
soil in a sure and economical way ; how improve 
and increase his farm stock ; how supply them 
with the most nutritious food at the least cost; 
how obtain a full flow of milk from his cows during 
the entire season independently of parched pastures 
or drouths; how increase his acreage without buy- 
ing more land. An attempted solution of these 
and kindred questions, will be found in the follow- 
ing pages. 

In relating my own experience in conducting the 
soiling system, it is not my purpose to boast of 
what / have done, or what / can do. Any other 
farmer may practice the system with the same or 
even better results ; for my knowledge of it is not 
perfect, and each year's experience reveals many 
new advantages of the system. 



INTRODUCTION. 



5 



In these days of hurry and push a man of busi- 
ness has not time to waste in reading refined and 
imaginary theories, but he seeks how he may 
shun the failures of others, how he may profit by 
the experience which has led the actual worker to 
success ; thus avoiding the hard and often discour- 
aging teachings of experience. 1 have, therefore, 
avoided speculation, and endeavored to present 
this subject in the light of '' vulgar truth," giving 
only what I have found, after repeated trials, fail- 
ures and successes, to be the most economical and 
the best methods of condcuting the soiling system. 
I do not pretend to say that my conclusions will 
be found infallible under all circumstances, but I 
hope that by showing how the general principles 
of the system have been adapted to my circum- 
stances, the reader may obtain a clear view of its 
workings and be enabled to adapt it with such al- 
terations as the different conditions under which 
he may operate shall suggest. 

I am not farming for pleasure, although I find a 
great deal of pleasure in it. I follow farming as a 
business, in gaining my daily bread, the acquisition 
of which depends upon my own endeavors, and the 
blessings of Providence. I am not backed by a 
profitable business in the city to aid in carrying 
out mere ideas or visionary theories, regardless of 
expense. My readers need not fear, then, that they 
are about to be entertained by the diversions of a 
*' fancy farmer." 

I have no apology to offer for presenting this 
subject to the public in book form. I humbly ac- 
knowledge that it is not done '' at the earnest so- 
licitation of numerous friends," but because I am 
intensely interested in farming as a business or 
profession, and would fain see more of our intelli- 



6 INTRODUCTION. 

gent young men engage in this pursuit. And to 
such of my co-laborers as may wish to know them, 
I shall explain in detail how I found the answers 
to the different questions which confront and per- 
plex us in the beginning of our own life work. 

As a literary writer, I make no pretensions. If 
this work is well received, it must be entirely on 
its merits as a record ol the personal practical 
views and experience of a farmer. And if the 
reader finds as much pleasure in perusing these 
pages as it has afforded me to write them, I shall 
feel that my labor has not been spent for naught, 
nor his attention engaged in vain. 






The Influence of Food on the Development 
OF Farm Stock. 

As the quality and quantity of forage crops de- 
pend upon the fertility of the soil, in like manner 
does the condition of our domestic animals depend 
upon the quality and quantity of the lood which 
the soil produces. The cow is but a machine for 
the production of milk, butter, cheese or beef ; the 
sheep is but a maker of wool and mutton ; the 
horse is but a motive power for draft or speed. In 
either case the raw material employed is simply 
the food each consumes, and the profit realized by 
the owner is produced by the amount of food con- 
sumed above that required to supply the demands 
of the physical organization, as the profits of a fac- 
tory are found in its products after deducting the 
cost, and as the profit of a steam engine lies only 
in the power it can exert after sustaining its own 
motion. '' I do not mean to say," says Mr. M. 
AUender, in a paper read before the London 
Farmers' Club, " that a cow is like a steam boiler, 
that the more coal (food) you throw into the fur- 
nace the better results you obtain, but I do main- 



S SOILING. 

tain that the food, both in kind and quantity, has 
much to do with the important item of profit and 
loss." 

It may be said that forced feeding of farm stock 
is not only injurious to the animal, but also defeats 
the end in view. True, but no more so than of the 
factory or the steam engine. They, also, have lim- 
its beyond which they cannot be forced without 
great risk of lost to the owner. 

Says Mr. Hoxie : '' It is generally supposed that 
varieties of domestic animals have sprung from 
comparatively few families ; that all varieties of 
the horse, from the draft-horse to the Shetland 
pony, have sprung from one family ; that all varie- 
ties of the cow, trom the little Kerry to the magni- 
ficent Short Horn, are from the same original 
stock." And history informs us that the American 
trotter, the English hunter, the Clydesdale of Scot- 
land, and the Percheron of France, have a common 
ancestor in the Arabian horse. What, we may 
naturally inquire, is the cause of the wide differ- 
ences between them ? If our cows are from the 
same family, why is it that the Jersey cannot com- 
pete with the Hereford for beef? And in the case 
of horses, why can not the Clydesdale compete 
with the Hambletonian on the track, or enter the 
race for the Derby ? 

These variations in domestic animals have oc- 
curred principally within the memory of man. 
Therefore, the oft repeated adage that 'Mike begets 
like " cannot be strictly true. We must look 
further; for, to accept one and not regard the 
other, would, to say the least, result in uncertainty ; 
but to reject both sends us still further back into 
ignorance. 

Referring again to history, we read : " The fer- 



THE INFLUENCE OF FOOD. 9 

tility of t lie soil of the rich valley of the Tees orig- 
inated the English Shorthorn ; the barren mountain 
regions of the northwest part of Ireland, the little 
Kerry ; the fertile plains of western Europe, sever- 
al varieties of the great draft horse ; and the bleak, 
barren islands off the north coast of Scotland, the 
Shetland pony." 

From this we may infer that, while " like begets 
like," the different families of domestic animals may 
be so improved that, after a few generations, there 
can be found few points of close resemblance to 
the original- I shall try to show how this varia- 
tion, and the development of new and valuable 
characteristics, are largely due to the influence of 
food, and how a correct knowledge of feeding 
places in the hands of the farmer a lever power, 
the force of which cannot be estimated. 

The principles of feeding and selection in the 
process of breeding are no longer experimental, but 
have become resolved into a science quite exact. 
Prof. Miles, in his valuable work on *' Stock Breed- 
ing," says : " The Kerry cattle are a small and 
hardy race. The scarce supply of coarse food 
obtained upon their native hills (Ireland) by indus- 
trious efforts give a slow growth and a late 
development of the organization, so that heifers 
do not breed until six years old." He adds, 
"Animals of the same breed raised in Massachusetts, 
under more favorable conditions for development, 
are larger than the original type and mature earlier, 
the heifers breeding at the age of three years." 
He attributes the change to the influence of better 
food and shelter. 

" Long-wooled sheep," says Mr. Stewart, *' are 
properly the natives of the rich lowlands of Eng- 
land which are productive of abundant succulent 



10 SOILING. 

and nutritious pasture." As in the animal kingdom 
there is a marked difterence between the animals 
of the same breed which feed upon the barren hills 
and those which graze in the fertile valleys of the 
same cou ntry , there is a similar variation from a sim- 
ilar cause noted in the vegetable world. In the trop- 
ics the forest trees and plants never cease to grow, 
feeding upon rich plant food during the entire 
year, thereby developing grand proportions. But 
as we approach the north and the cold increases, 
vegetation diminishes, until we reach the Frigid 
Zone, where, says Dr. Hall, " you can cover a forest 
of a thousand trees with your hat." As already 
stated, plants, like animals, live, feed, grow and die, 
and the development of each depends upon the 
amount and quality of their respective foods. As 
vegetation thrives best in the warmer climates, we 
should learn the importance of providing warm 
and comfortable quarters for our farm stock dur- 
ing the winter. And, again, as plants thrive best 
where they obtain their food uniform in quality 
and quantity during the entire year, the best results 
in our stock can be reached only by a similar pro- 
vision for them. 

The soiling system, s?im7ner and winter, offers the 
very best means known, at the present day, of 
accomplishing these results. The field of one 
farmer ma}^ produce bountifully while that of 
his neighbor over the fence may not produce 
enough to pay the expense of growing and har- 
vesting. Of the former, we may say the land is 
rich ; of the latter, poor. What we reallv mean to 
say is that the soil of the one has been well supplied 
with plant food, while the other has been starved 
and is hungry. There are thousands of farm 
animals that do not pay the interest on their pur- 



THE INFLUENCE OF FOOD. II 

chase price above the cost of their keeping", simply 
because they are not fed enough. Says Francis 
Morris, in the Agricultural Report of 1863, " Take 
two Durham calves from cows of equal purity, 
sired by the same bull, send one into 'green fields 
and pastures new,' stable it in cold weather, give it 
all it can need for its health and comfort; turn the 
other out to pick its own living on a rocky, barren 
field, to shiver with cold, to search wearily for 
food. At the end of a year, compare them. The 
first will be a fat, sturdy, handsome fellow, sleek, 
bright, erect of head, courageous and intelligent ; 
the other, a miserable, melancholy runt, without 
pluck or beauty, lean, small, and showing scarcely 
a trace of beauty." He adds, in substance, " Now 
try to fatten them. The one that was well treated 
will thrive rapidly ; the other, though it may 
improve, will never attain its proper size, nor be 
anything but a runt; nor will it be fit for breeding 
purposes ; the probabilities are that the runt qual- 
ities acquired by hard usage will be transmitted." 
The influence of food has also a marked effect on 
the reproductive powers of animals. Says Prof. 
Tanner Miles, in his work on '' Stock Breeding," 
''When the tall rains have been small, and the herb- 
age more than usually parched, we find unusual dif- 
ficulty in getting ordinary farm stock to breed. A 
dry dietary is very unfavorable for breeding animals 
and very much retards successful impregnation. 
On the other hand, rich, juicy and succulent vege- 
tation is very generally favorable to breeding." 
Taking advantage of this, breeders of long wool 
and mutton sheep manage to have a fresh pasture 
in which to turn their ewes during the coupling 
season, or supply them with other green forage, 
such as tares and rape, sometimes adding grain ; 



12 SOILING. 

by so doing- the ewes are more apt to drop twins. 
It is evident that the influence of food has much to 
do not only with the improvement and early ma- 
turity of our farm stock, but also with the question 
of profit and loss while keeping- them. The econ- 
omy in feeding farm stock in order to attain the 
greatest improvement, earliest maturity, and largest 
profits, is the result of continued liberal feeding of 
the most succulent and nutritious foods abundant 
in albumenoids, carbo-hydrates, and fat. The 
economy in feeding farm crops, in order to obtain 
the greatest growth, the earliest maturity, or the 
largest profit, will likewise be found in the most 
liberal supply of plant food, abundant in nitrogen, 
phosphoric acid, and potash. 

He who would practice true economy in feeding 
should have lettered upon the walls of his stables, 
and distinctly and indelibly stamped upon the 
tablets of his memory, the ancient and wise saying, 
^^WitJiJioldiiig dotJi not enrich thee nor giving iin- 
poverishy 

The effect of food and selection in breeding, 
which has already been noticed, has produced, in 
each family of domestic animals, three distinct 
characters. Thus, among cattle, are those pecul- 
iarly developed for producing beef, milk, or butter; 
ot sheep, are those best for fine wool, long wool, 
or mutton, and of horses, are those excellent for 
draft, road, or speed. We may well consider, for 
instance, how the influence of food has produced 
in the bovine race one breed excellent for beef, 
another for milk, and another for butter. The 
successful plan for improving stock has always 
been by the perfection of some one valuable qual- 
ity and making all others subordinate. Says Prof. 
Miles, " When the entire energies of the system 



THE INFLUENCE OF FOOD. 1 3 

are acting in a particular direction, as they must 
do to ensure the highest developement of a single 
quality, there is no residuum of force for the de- 
velopement of other qualities that are not strictly 
correlated with the one made dominant." In these 
days of close competition, it is very essential that 
the breeder, who would successfully compete with 
his neighbor, should select a breed (at least the 
sire) whose ancestry excels in the qualities best 
adapted to the condition of his farm and the 
demands of his nearest market. From such animals 
only will he receive the most profitable returns 
from his investment. A cow, for instance, which 
is a " jack at all trades, is master of none," and can 
not compete with trained milkers, butter makers, 
or beef producers. Every farmer knows that a 
combined machine is seldom a perfect one in any 
respect. Formerly, machines for reaping and 
mowing were combined ; but farmers soon discov- 
ered that, although the first cost was a little more, 
separate machines were rather to be desired, since 
each afforded the advantages for its peculiar use 
without being burdened with more or less useless 
machinery, and was always ready for immediate 
use without changing the " rig." As already stat- 
ed, a cow is but a machine for the production of 
beef, milk, or butter, and experience teaches that a 
cow of various qualities is never as profitable as 
one that is dred, fed a?id cared for with but one aim 
in view. Not every farmer is able to buy thorough- 
bred stock ; but every one should have a definite 
object in view, or, as the years go by, he will gain 
nothing by way of improvement, and this is not 
progressive farming. Nearly a year is required 
for a cow to breed, and to allow this length of time 



14 SOILING. 

to elapse without improvement in the stock is to 
lose forever a valuable opportunity. 

In considering how the proper management of 
food may assist in the improvement oi the stock of 
a farmer who has not the means to buy stock 
already improved, and how such an one may de- 
velope in his herd a greater proclivity for convert- 
ing their food into beef, milk, or butter, as may be 
desired, let us take, for example, the "combined" 
cow, i. e., one which excels in nothing, and see how 
she may be improved. First, for beef. The sire 
should be supplied with an abundance of rich and 
nutritious food, such as produces the most fat. He 
should be well cared for and furnished with com- 
fortable quarters, and indulged in laziness, as that 
is conducive to fiesh. When wanted for service 
he should be quite fat, that he may transmit to his 
progeny a tendency in that direction. The dam 
should be similarly fed, and should be taking on 
fiesh, especially during the period of gestation, not 
so much for benefit to her, for she is already grown 
and no amount of feeding will benefit her. The 
object is to create in her unborn calf, with the 
assistance of the sire's infiuence, a greater tendency 
to fatten. This tendency thus transmitted is 
operative only during gestation, so that the oppor- 
tunity for improvement in the young virtually 
ceases at its birth. For, at whatever stage of 
perfection the young of any animal may arrive, the 
result is due to the impetus received from the 
parents. Heifers should not be allowed to breed 
until at the age of three years, and very little 
account should be taken of the quantity and quality 
of milk. In fact many breeders allow the calves to 
run with their dams for three or four months and 
then dry them off. Mr. Price, a noted Hereford 



THE INFLUENCE OF FOOD. 1 5 

breeder, says : " Experience has taught me that 
no animals possessing form and other requisites 
giving them a great disposition to fatten, are cal- 
culated to give much milk, nor is it reasonable to 
suppose they should, — it is in direct opposition to 
the law of nature." By applying the above princi- 
ples of feeding, we may reasonably expect to 
rapidly improve the tendency to fatten, — not that 
it will take less food to make a pound of beef, but 
because the growing generations have been better 
educated, if I may use the expression, to convert 
their food more entirely to the one purpose, i. e., 
beef. 

If it be desirable to improve on our "combined" 
cow, so that her progeny will be more profitable 
milk producers, the food for the sire should be 
plentiful, but of the kind which produces in the 
cow quantity of m-ilk, rather than flesh, {Miles on 
Stock Breeding, page 90). Although bountifully fed, 
it should never be to the extent of developing fat- 
tening proclivities ; nor should he be allowed to 
exercise to the developement of muscle. His gen- 
eral appearance should be feminine. The dam 
should be fed on such food as produces the great- 
est quantity of milk; and especially during the 
period of gestation, her feed must be bountiful. 
The milk secreations should be stimulated to their 
fullest extent, consistent with health, that the or- 
gans of lactation in the unborn calf may be more 
fully developed than those found in the normal 
condition of the dam. Heifers should bre^d early, 
— at least, when coming two years old — and trained 
to long milking periods, not allowing them to go 
dry more than one or two months before the birth 
of the second calf. 

In breeding for butter, there is no particular dif- 



1 6 SOILING. 

ference in feeding- from the method last described, 
except that the feed should be of a richer kind. 
The quality of the milk should be improved, re- 
gardless of the quantity: Some of the greatest 
milkers, giving forty-five quarts, or ninety pounds, 
per day, are, as butter makers, surpassed by one 
of the butter produciog breeds which may give 
only twenty quarts per day. My own experience, 
which I think every dairyman and observing farm- 
er will endorse, is that the cow which eats the most 
and keeps the poorest is the most profitable for 
milk or butter; while the cow which eats the least 
and takes on the most flesh is the most profitable 
for beef. Paradoxical as this may seem, it is in 
perfect harmony with the laws of nature. 

Important as it is to understand the art of feed- 
ing, our best efforts may be defeated by an improp- 
er selection, which the condition of the farm and 
the demands of the nearest market, rather than any 
individual preference, should determine. Gener- 
ally speaking, famihes of the bovine race may be 
divided according to their special advantages, as 
follows : 

Those producing beef, Herefords and Short 
Horns. 

Those producing milk, Holsteinsand Ayreshires. 
" " butter, Jersey^s and Guernseys. 

Farmers breeding for beef will tell you that such 
a calf gained three pounds of flesh per day for a 
year ; but there is nothing to say about milk or 
butter. ^Those breeding milkers will show you a 
cow which gives from ninety to a hundred pounds 
of milk per day ; but they have little, if anything, 
to say about the amount or quality of butter. The 
breeders of butter makers will show you a cow 
which produces three pounds of butter per day, 



THE INFLUENCE OF FOOD. 1/ 

but make no mention of the quantity of milk. Some 
one might suggest that it would be a good plan to 
couple the beefers with the deepest milkers, and 
again with the best butter makers, thus consolida- 
ting the desirable qualities of all breeds. The re- 
sult would be merely a grade animal, probably 
little or no improvement upon our native cattle, 
and thus we should again have our " combined " 
machine. This plan of breading has often been 
tried but has as often failed. Each family has pe- 
culiar traits for which it is prized, and to combine 
these is, in a great measure, to destroy them. The 
laws governing the principles of breeding were 
ordained by the author of all creation, and took 
effect with the first breath of life. They are as 
changeless as the laws of force, gravitation, and 
light. How essential is it, therefore, that we 
should understand them and work in harmony 
with them? To attempt to alter or even modify 
them is to work discouragement and failure. 

In representing the different breeds of cattle, it 
has not been for the purpose of elevating one 
breed above another. Each family, if selected for 
just what it is, will far surpass, in its peculiar ca- 
pacity, all others. It is nothing short of absurdity 
to select milkers from a family which, for the last 
two or three hundred years, has been breed for 
beef, and vice versa. It would be equally consist- 
ent to choose the Clydesdale for the race course, 
or the Hambletonian for the dray. In my opinion, 
one of the most absurd theories advanced as a 
reason for selectmg a large breed of cattle, with 
inherent beef proclivities, for the dairy, is " that 
when, we are through with them as milkers, we 
can realize more money on disposing of them for 
beef." Acting on this principle, a farmer, on being 



1 8 SOILING. 

offered the choice of two cows, of 900 and 1,200 
pounds weight, prefers the one heavier than the 
other. Now, it has been repeatedly proven by 
careful experiments, in England, Germany and 
America, that it requires of hav, in pounds, or their 
equivalent, two per cent, of the live weight, per 
day, to sustain life, without producing milk or flesh. 
At this rate, it takes six pounds of hay more per 
day to sustain the extra three hundred pounds of 
flesh; and the cost of this extra feed, at $15 per 
ton, would amonnt to $16.42 for the year. The 
average period of usefulness of a cow is ten years. 
So that the cost of sustaining the extra three hun- 
dred pounds until the cow had outlived her use- 
fulness as a milker, would amount to $164.20: but, 
at that time, the three hundred pounds of beef 
would be worth only $12.00. Again, it is esti- 
mated that it requires three pounds of hay per day 
to produce one quart of milk. That is to say, after 
the animal has consumed two per cent, of her live 
weight, three pounds of hay, or its equivalent, in 
addition will be necessary to produce one quart of 
milk. Therefore, the six pounds of hay which is 
daily consumed to support the extra three hundred 
pounds of flesh, would produce in a cow weighing 
three hundred pounds less two quarts of milk, 
which, for three hundred days, the average milking 
season, would amount to six hundred quarts; and 
this, at three cents per quart would amount to 
$18 per year, or, for the ten years $180. As both 
cows originally cost the same, say $40, estimating 
the cost of keeping the smaller at $1 per week, and 
admitting that the larger cow gives ten quarts of 
milk per day, milking 300 days ol the year, their 
accounts, at the end of ten years would be as 
follows: 



THE INFLUENCE OF FOOD. 



19 



To cost, - - - - 
To cost keeping, - 


LARGE 

Dr. 

$ 40.00 
684.20 


COW. 

Cr. 

$900.00 
48.00 

$948.00 
724.20 


SMALL 

Dr. 

$ 40 
520 


COW. 

Cr. 


By milk, - - - 
By beef, - - - - 


$724.20 


$560 


$1,080 
36 




$1,116 
560 


Profit, - - 


$223.80 


$556 



These figures serve to show the fallacy in sup- 
porting three hundred pounds of extra flesh for 
ten years for the sake of having that much more to 
dispose of at the end of that time. It also serves 
to show the greater comparative value of the cow 
which gives at a milking only one quart more than 
another. In ten years we go to a cow about six 
thousand times for milk ; we can go to her but 
once for beef. It might be suggested that the 
calves of the larger cow would weigh at least 
twenty-five pounds each more than those of the 
smaller; but this, at four cents a pound, would 
amount to only one dollar per year ; and, on the 
other hand, if the heifer calves were to be raised 
for dair}' purposes, any one knowing the dams 
would, other things being equal, pay at least twice 
as much for the calves of the smaller cow as for 
those of the larger. 

The reader may ask, what has the influence of 
food and the selection of a breed to do with soiling? 
Not so much perhaps as soiling has to do with such 
influence and selection, — by placing within the 



20 SOILING. 

hands of the farmer the means by which he may 
best improve his farm stock, i. e., an abundance of 
rich, succulent and nutritious foods during the 
entire year, which, when fed to stock possessing 
the tendency to convert it into the product de- 
manded, w^ill return to him handsome profits and 
afford the best and most economical means of 
enriching the soil for the growing crops. Thus he 
ma)' feed his stock more bountifully, knowing that 
it will surely return to him in a well filled pail, or 
that it is being certainly stored away on the ribs 
of his fattening steers. He may feed with a more 
liberal hand, knowing that in the C(;mpost heap he 
is storing treasures, and that these will be com- 
mitted to the fields, as to the hands of the faith- 
ful steward, which will return them again with 
usury. Once started in the nght direction, forsak- 
ing all others, there will be no limit to the success- 
ful application of energy and skill. He may run 
with safety w^here, if his course were doubtful, to 
walk would be uncertain ; and uncertainty robs a 
man of that vim and push which is so essential to 
success in any line of business. But, if on the right 
track, though he may stumble and even fall, he will 
yet recover. " Be sure you're r?>/^/, then go a/wad."' 



The Comparative Values of Grain and 
F()RA(;e Crops. 

Says Lockhardt : " Good farming consists in tak- 
ing large crops from the soil, while, at the same 
time, you leave it better than you found it." 



GRAIN VS. FORAGE CROPS. 21 

Good crops make good manure, and good manure 
makes good crops. The value of grains and forage 
crops for animal food depends, principally, upon the 
amount of albumenoids, carbo-hydrates and fat 
which they contain ; while their value for plant 
food (manure) depends chiefly on the amount of ni- 
trogen, phosphoric acid and potash contained in 
them. Animals, in their consumption of food, re- 
tain little if any of those elements of it which con- 
stitute plant food ; and plants consume little if any 
of those which constitute animal food. Thus, if a 
ton of feed should be plowed under for manure, it 
would be of no more value to the land than if it had 
first been fed to the stock, and none of its virtue 
had been allowed to waste while in the form of ma- 
nure. Some plants and grains ai*e very rich, or val- 
uable, as animal food, while others are rich as plant 
food, and, again, others are valuable for both pur- 
poses. 

Important as it is to know the influence of food, 
and the necessity of giving it to the proper animal 
to obtain the most profitalDle results, the highest de- 
gree of economy cannot be obtained w^ithout a 
knowledge of the comparative values of the feed 
consumed by the stock as animal and as plant food. 
The following tables will afford the farmer some 
curious and interesting facts, and some information 
which will assist him in making a most economical 
selection. The analysis, from which the values of 
the different foods are estimated, w^as taken from 
the late work of Dr. Emil Wolff, of the Royal Acad- 
emy of Agriculture, Hohenheim, Wurtemberg. 
They represent the average result of numerous re- 
liable analyses, and are sufficiently accurate for all 
practical purposes. The original analysis, repre- 
senting the comparative proportions of different 



22 



SOILING. 



foods, is given in the number of parts found in lOO 
and I GOG. From these I have estimated the num- 
ber of parts, or pounds, found in one ton ( 20GO lbs. ) 
Their values for animal food, in dollars and cents, 
is computed by estimating albumenoids at $4.00, 
carbo-hydrates at .8g, and fat at |;4.gg per hundred 
pounds. This is, doubtless, below their real value. 
Waldo Brown, of Ohio, estimates them, respect- 
ively, at $4.30, .90, and $4.35 per hmidred. As the 
price of feed varies in different localities, these fig- 
ures cannot be said to be absolutely and universally 
correct ; but they may serve to show the relative 
values of the different kinds of food. If, for in- 
stance, my estimate of timothy for feed, at $17.96 
per ton is too low, all the others are proportion- 
ately too low. In calculating the values of the dif- 
ferent grains and forage crops as plant food, 
I have taken the average of the prices given by 
several different authors, and find them to be about 
as follows : nitrogen, 20 cents per pound ; phos- 
phoric acid and potash, 4 cents per pound. I do 
not know where or in what form nitrogen can be 
had at 20 cents per pound, but that figure will suf- 
fice to give us the comparative values of the differ- 
ent farm crops as manure. 





Pounds of Animal 


d 


Pounds of 


=8 S" 




Food per ton. 


(B 


Plant Food per 


as 






1 


0) t- 


ton. 


OQ U 

03 a> 


GRAINS. 












'32 


0, a 




Alb. 
510 


Carb. 
Hyd. 

910 


Fat. 
40 


$29.21 


Nitro- 
gen. 

81.6 


o3 
•a y 

17.2 


o3 

26.2 


S 1) 


Field Beans, 


$18.04 


Field Peas, 


448 


1046 


50 


27.38 


71.6 


17.2 


19.6 


15.78 


Tares (Vetches), 


550 


844 


54 


30,91 


88.0 


20.0 


16.2 


19.04 


Indian Corn, 


200 


1360 


140 


'^.48 


32.0 


11.8 


7.4 


7.16 


Wheat, 


260 


1352 


30 


21.51 


41.6 


15.8 


10.6 


9.36 


Rye, 


220 


1384 


40 


21.41 


35.2 


16.8 


11.2 


8.16 


Barley, 


190 


1332 


50 


20.25 


32.0 


15.4 


9.0 


7.37 


Oats, 


240 


1218 


120 


24.14 


39.4 


12.4 


8.8 


8.72 


Buckwheat, 


180 


1192 


50 


18.64 


• 28.8 


11.4 


5,4 


' 6.43 



GRAIN VS. FORAGE CROPS. 



23 





Pounds of Animal 




Pounds of 


C3 c 




Food per ton. 


0) . 


Plant Food per 


2 


GROUND FEED AND 




m 


ton. 


03 4J 


REFUSE. 










, 


11 


<u D. 




Albu- 


Carb. 




1^ 


Nitro- 


ss 


53 


'3 5: 


* 


men. 
660 


Hyd. 
352 


Fat 
324 


> 


gen. 


ph<; 


29.2 


>S 


Cotton Seed Meal, 


$42.66 


98.0 


56.2 


$23.00 


Linseed Meal. 


566 


S26 


200 


37.24 


90.6 


32.2 


24.8 


20.40 


Corn Meal, 


200 


1360 


140 


24.48 


32.0 


11.8 


7.4 


7.16 


Malt Sprouts, 


460 


894 


50 


27.55 


73.6 


36.0 


41.2 


17.80 


Brewer's Grains, 


98 


222 


32 


1 6.97 


15.6 


8.2 


1.0 


3.48 


Wheat Bran. 


280 


1000 


76 


1 22.24 


44.8 


54.6 


28.6 


12.28 


Rye Bran, 


290 , 


1070 


70 


1 22.96 


46.4 


68.6 


38.6 


13.56 


Rape Cake, 


566 


670 


180 


1 35.20 


1 97.0 


35.4 


24.8 


21.80 



DRY FORAGE. 
(Hay and Straw.) 



Red Clover, 

Timothy, 

Lucern, 

Tares, cut in blossom, 

Peas, cut in blossom, 

Orchard Grass, 

Wheat Straw, 

Rye Straw, 

Barley Straw, 

Oat Straw, 

Pea Straw, 

Bean Straw, 

Cornstalks, 



Pounds of Animal 


H 


Pounds of 


Food per ton. 


W +J 


Plant Food per 




I 


IH 


ton. 




Carb. 




Nitro- 


1^ 


go 


Alb. 


Hyd. 


Fat. 




gen. 


^ 


268 


598 


64 


$18.06 


39.4 


11.2 


36.6 


194 


9J6 


60 


17.96 


31.0 


14.4 


40.8 


394 


858 


66 


25.26 


46.0 


11.0 


30.6 


284 


706 


50 


19.00 


45.4 


21.4 


56.(5 


286 


736 


52 


19.40 


45.8 


13.6 


46.4 


232 


814 


54 


17.95 


31.0 


8.2 


26.4 


40 


604 


30 


7.68 


9.6 


4.4 


12.6 


30 


540 


26 


6.56 


8.0 


4.2 


1.5.6 


60 


656 


28 


8.75 


12.8 


3.8 


18.8 


50 


764 


40 


9.71 


11.2 


3.8 


17.8 


130 


704 


40 


12.42 


20.8 


7.0 


20.2 


204 


730 


20 


14.80 


32.6 


6.4 


37.0 


60 


720 


22 


[ 8.98 


9.6 


10.6 


19.2 



2 c 



\ 9.78 

8.40 

10.86 

12.20 

11.56 

7.58 

2.00 

2.39 

3.46 

3.10 

5.24 

8.24 

3.01 



24 



SOILING. 





Pounds of Animal 


. 


Pounds of 


is 




Food per ton. 


aa o 


Plant Food perl 


SB 






1 


II 


ton. 


cS a> 


GREEN FODDER. 














« & 






Carb. 




^V. 


Nitro- 


o.'S 


c3 


C3 « 

■"5 t-i 




Alb. 


Hyd. 


Fat. 
16 




gen. 


Ph<5 


P-t 


1 > C 


Grass?, 


60 


258 


$ 5.10 


10.8 


3.0 


9.2 


j $2.64 


Clover (red). 


66 


154 


14 


4.43 


10.2 


8.8 


2.8 


1 2.. 50 

* 3.38 

2.90 


Lucern, 


90 


1.56 


12 


5.32 


14.4 


3.2 


9.6 


Tares (vetches), 


62 


152 


12 


4.22 


11.2 


4.6 


12.2 


Peas, 


64 


164 


12 


4.25 


10.2 


10.2 


3.0 


2. .56 


Oats, 


46 


176 


10 


4.14 


7.4 


3.4 


15.0 


2.21 


Rye, 


66 


298 


18 


5.74 


10.6 


4.8 


12,6 


2.81 


Corn. 


22 


218 


10 


3.02 


3.8 


2.6 


8.6 


1.20 


Hungarian Millet, 


lis 


300 


30 


8.32 


20.0 


2.5 


17.0 


4.78 


Sorghum. 


50 


306 


28 


5.56 


8.0 


1.6 


7.2 


1.95 


Cabbage, 
Rape (leaves), 


30 


126 


8 


. 2.52 










400 


950 


40 


25.20 


9,2 


2.8 


8.0 


2.86 





Pounds of Animal 


1 


Pounds of 


a c 




Food per ton. 


00 o 

OS-is 


Plafit Food per 


3S 






II 


ton. 


as a; 


ROOTS, ETC. 










Wr^ 


33 


0) O. 




Alb. 


Carb. 
Hyd. 


Fat. 

! 


.2 


Nitro- 
gen. 




o 
11.4 




Potatoes, 


40 


420 


6 


$5.20 


6.8 


3.8 


$1.96 


Turnips, 


64 


340 


12 


5.74 


1 3.6 


1.8 


6.6 


1.05 


Field Beets, 


22 


182 


2 


2.31 










Sugar Beets, 


20 


308 


2 


3.43 


3.2 


1.6 


7.8 


1.01 


Carrots, 


30 


216 


4 


3,08 


4.4 


2.0 


5.6 


1.18 


Pumpkins, 


26 


56 


2- 


1.56 











The compost heap is the farmer's bank, on 
which his drafts will be honored in proportion to 
the amount deposited therein. It is a mistaken no- 
tion that manure is manure, whatever it may be 
made of. The foregoing tables show a ton of clov- 
er hay to be worth $9.78 for manure, and a ton of 
corn meal only $7.16 ; but, as feed, the meal is worth 
about $6.42 more than the hay. The manure from 
a ton of wheat straw is worth about $2.60, while 



GRAIN VS. FORAGE CROPS. 2$ 

that from the same amount of cotton seed meal is 
worth $23.00. Clover hay is worth more than tim- 
othy, both as feed and as manure. The peculiar 
value of timothy for horses is that it contains a very 
large per cent, of carbo-hydrates (muscle forming 
food) and not so much fat. We also see that lucern 
and peas cut in blossom, make ver}^ valuable hay. 
There are ver)- many interesting facts to be found 
in the tables which we have not the space to no- 
tice particularly. The relative value of each of the 
green forage crops is apparent at a glance. B}^ a 
careful study of the tables, the farmer may make 
such selection of food as will be most economical 
and best adapted to the wants of his stock and his 
land. For instance, the price of corn meal is about 
the same as that of malt sprouts, but the latter is 
worth about $3.00 per ton more for feed and about 
$10.00 per ton more for manure. Last season I 
sold corn at the rate of $25.00 per ton, and bought 
cotton seed meal for $3.00, including freight from 
New York City ; but the latter was worth nearly 
twice as much for feed, and three times as much 
for manure. 



GREEN CROPS AS *MANURE. 

"Ordinary barnyard manure," says Mr. Harlan, 
in his work on Farming with Green Manure, "con- 
tains 10 lbs. of nitrogen, 5 lbs. of phosphoric acid, 
and 12^ lbs. of potash." By reference to the 
tables, we notice that a ton of green rye is worth 
just about as much. Millet and lucern show 
much larger values. Clover, also, is a valuable 



26 SOILING. 

crop as a green manure. Its entire value is not 
shown in the analysis, as its roots, which are very 
numerous, are not taken into the account. The 
same is true of lucern. The advantage of plough- 
ing under green manure is that it saves drawing 
and spreading. Rye, for this purpose, doubtless 
stands ahead of all other green crops, not on ac- 
count of its superior value, but because it occupies 
the ground at a time when no other crop, except 
wheat, will grow. In ordinary land, there will be 
growing by the first of May, from 15 to 20 tons per 
acre. As a summer crop, cow peas are doubtless 
the most valuable. They are extensively grown 
for green manure on exhausted cotton and tobacco 
fields in the southern states. 



LIQUID MANURE. 

There is, perhaps, no branch in farm economy 
which receives so little attention as the saving of 
this most valuable fertilizer. Many farmers have 
brooks running through their yards, or have their 
yards on side hills or on gravelly soil. Thus stores 
of the most valuable plant food is lost. 

The following table shows the number of pounds 
of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash found in 
one ton of fresh dung or urine, and their compara- 
tive values : 



GRAIN VS. FORAGE CROPS. 



27 







DUNG. 






URINE. 






Nitro- 
gen. 


Phoe. 
Acid. 


Potash 


Value. 


Nitro- 
gen. 


Phos. 
Acid. 


Potash 

45.2 

30.0 

9.8 

16.6 


Value. 


Sheep, 
Horae, 
Cow, 
Swine, 


11.0 

8.8 

» 5.8 

12,0 


6.2 
7.0 
3.4 

8.2 


3.0 
7.0 
2.0 
5.2 


$2.56 
2.30 
1.37 
2.93 


39.0 

31.0 

i 11.6 

. 8.6 


0.2 
1.4 


$9.61 
7.40 
2.71 
2.44 



The analysis in this table is from Prof. Wolff, to 
which 1 have added the values, estimated accord- 
ing to the previous tables. 

The two methods usually employed to save liq- 
uid manure are by absorbents, such as dry muck, 
sand, road dust, sod, shavings, saw-dust, forest 
leaves, cobs, etc., and by drainage from the stables 
into a cistern. The drainage from the yards may 
be pumped into portable tanks similar to street 
sprinklers, and thus distributed over the fields. 
Some farmers have hollow places in their barn- 
yards, tilled with absorbents, but they are usually 
great nuisances in open yards, and they should be 
under the stack or where the rain cannot fall 
directly into them. It is estimated by some that 
" the number of pounds of urine is at least double 
that of solid manure." I am inclined to think the 
proportion more nearly equal. In the case of 
horse manure, there is no attempt to save the liq- 
uid portion, and for every ton of dung, worth $2.30, 
saved, there is wasted $7.40 worth of urine. In 
saving this most valuable fertilizer, the soiling sys- 
tem affords the very best means, and I have no 
doubt that the saving of manure, in this direction 
alone, will more than pay the cost of the extra la- 
bor. The manner of saving by absorbents will be 
explained under the head of stables and their con- 
struction. 



28 SOILING. 

Liquid manure is used to quite an extent in Eng- 
land, where the soihng system has been adopted, 
as a top dressing, and enables the farmer to get 
from five to seven cuttings of feed from the same 
ground during the season. These dressings are 
put on immediately after each cutting.. The urine 
is pumped from the reservoir into a tank or hogs- 
head on a two-wheeled cart which is drawn by one 
horse. It is then distributed through a sprinkler 
or rubber hose attached to the tank. The liquid 
is never applied except after being greatly diluted 
with water. It is claimed that a man with cart and 
horse " will top-dress one acre per day, within a 
quarter of a mile from the barn." I doubt if the 
same force could draw out and top-dress, with sol- 
id manure, more than one quarter of that amount 
of ground per day. The German proprietor of 
eight acres, referred to by Morris in " Ten Acres 
Enough," who transformed the neglected and ex- 
hausted soil into a garden of immense productive- 
ness and great profit, started with a capital of $3.- 
00 and four pigs. The manure of his small stock, 
with the refuse of the family, was collected in a 
buried hogshead, there reduced to liquid manure 
and applied by means of a wheel-barrow. The re- 
sults from this small beginning in the right way 
were so remarkable, that he soon added more stock, 
sinking a brick cistern in the barnyard into which 
the liquid manure from 6 cows and 2 horses was 
conducted, together with the wash from his pig- 
pen and yard. The manure heap, always under 
cover, was thoroughly saturated by means of a 
pump in the cistern, which was also used for filling 
a hogshead on wheels with the fertilizing liquid 
for application. 



GRAIN VS. FORAGE CROPS. 29 

COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS. 

All known plants are composed of filteen ele- 
ments only. As, by the use of twenty-six letters 
of our alphabet, we are enabled to write them so 
as to express many thousand different words, so 
vatious combinations of these fifteen elements or 
letters m the alphabet of vegetation, produce many 
thousand diiferent plants. 

Most of our artificial manures are only special 
fertilizers, and supply the soil with only part of the 
plant food generally required. Let \is suppose, 
lor example, that we wish a certain field to pro- 
duce a crop of wheat, and that, in order to grow 
the crop will require 5 of the 15 elements or letters 
in our vegetable alphabet. Let us represent these 
letters as w H e a t. If but one of the letters is 
missing, the word is incomplete, and the soil fails 
to spell the word we require; in other words, the 
crop is a failure. How is a farmer to know what 
one of the letters is missing? He must seek his 
answer m the ground by analyzing it. Can the far- 
mer analyze each kind of seed and the soil in which 
he is to sow It to determine their fitness for each 
other? And must he repeat the experiment with 
Other seeds for succeeding crops, or with other 
soils lor the same crop ? You say that this is im- 
possible. Then is it also impossible for him to 
apply special fertilizers intelligently or profitably • 
for, while such may do well in one field for a cer- 
tain crop, and show a good return for the money 
expended, the same in an adjoining field may 
amount to nothing. ^ 

The application of complete fertilizers is, at 
least, a step in advance, because, if the soil 
IS supphed with all the elements necessary 



30 



SOILING. 



to produce a crop, one is more certain that the 
missing letter is supplied. We will say, in the case 
of wheat, that all the letters, but T, are present, 
and that the missing letter represents potash, 
worth four cents a pound. The soil being supplied 
with the other four elements, a farmer will pay 
$40.00 to $60.00 per ton for a complete fertilizer 
whose potash is worth $4.00 or $5.00. Thus it oft- 
en occurs that the apphcation of a little hme, salt, 
ashes or plaster, side by side w^ith fertihzers cost- 
ing $60.00 per ton, produces equally good results, 
and not because, as some farmers suppose, the fer- 
tihzer was worthless, but because the soil was al- 
ready possessed of all the elements afforded by the 
fertilizer, except that snuple one w^hich a much 
cheaper substance could as well afford. It is the 
testimony of many farmers that the use of fertiliz- 
ers sometimes weakens, rather than strengthens 
the soil, by stimulating the available stores of plant 
food to an unusual degree, and producing an effect 
similar to that of stimulating drink upon a person 
who is, by its influence, able to perform an unusual 
amount of work, but, when the influence is with- 
drawn, is in a weaker condition than when he be- 
gan. Many of these fertilizers are, in my opinion, 
too expensive, considering their values as manures. 
1 find, in applying the same rates for valuation as 
were used to compute the values of the different 
crops for manures, in the preceeding tables, that a 
brand seUing for $40.00 per ton is worth but $12.- 
27 : another seUing for $35.00 is worth only $9.00; 
and one selling for $60.00 is worth but $33-40. If 
these estimates are too low, then the values set to 
the different grain and forage crops, also, are too 
low. If analysis is worth anything, a ton of wheat 
bran, fed and made into manure, is worth ($12.28) 



STRAWS. 3 1 

as much, ton for ton, as the fertih'zer above referred 
to as costing- $40.00^; and a ton of clover hay 
(worth $9.78) is as good as the brand seUing for $35.- 
00 ; a ton and a half of cotton seed meal is worth 
after feedmg, $34.00.— about the same as the brand 
selhng for $60.00 per ton. I must not neglect to 
say that there are some brands which do much 
above their full and actual values as manures ; but, 
even in those cases, the same amount produced by 
feeding would be far more economical, because 
thus the farmer receives a double profit, — hrst, by 
the production of beef, milk, or butter, and again, 
by the production of manure. I do not wish to 
be understood as utterly condemning commercial 
lertihzers, but 1 do mean that the proper applica- 
tion of barn-yard manure is the surest and most 
economical way of enriching our soil. Says Prof. 
W. O. Atwater, " Stable manure contains all the 
ingredients of plant food. It is a complete fertil- 
izer. Nor is this all. It improves the texture of 
the soil, it tends to regulate the supply of moisture, 
and it helps to set free the stores of inherent plant 
food which every soil contains." As a means ot 
attaining large quantities of manure at ''a cheap 
and easy rate," the soihng system affords the 
greatest advantages. 



Straws, which show which way the wind is 

BLOWING. 

England has been obliged to adopt the soiling 
system in order to increase the number of farm 



32 



SOILING. 



Stock per acre, — in other words, that she may 
grow larger crops of grain. In France and Ger- 
many, soihng is the rule, pasturing the exception ; 
and the number of their hve stock has been greatly 
increased since the introduction of the sugar beet 
industry. It is hardly necessary to add that the 
productiveness of their soil has increased corres- 
pondingly. The people of tViese countries have no 
uncle rich enough to give them each a farm, and, 
therefore, to supply the demands of their uicreas- 
ing population, they have been obliged to increase 
the yield of their .present possessions by doubling 
and tripling the productiveness of their soil. As 
in a crowded city they add to the capacity of their 
houses and factories by building up story above 
story, so the farmers of these older countries have 
been obliged to build up tJicir soiL until they have 
farms two, three, or four stories high ; that is to 
say, they have increased the productiveness of the 
soil unti'l one acre is made to produce what former- 
ly required two, three, or four acres. There is, I 
venture to say, scarcely a farmer east of the Mis- 
sissippi who would not be glad to know how this 
is done. The secret is an open one, /. c ; by grow- 
ing enormous crops of roots, clover and artificial 
grasses, and by keeping the greatest possible num- 
ber of farm stock to consume them, thus making 
large quantities of manure which, in their turn, 
produce large crops of grain. In fact, by adopting 
a regular system of soiling, the majority of Eng- 
lish farmers rent their farms and pay, says Hon. 
H. F. French, " an average of $10.00 per acre (year- 
ly) for the entire farm, on land which has been un- 
der the plow for centuries." That he is able to 
pay this rent, and $10.00 per acre for manure, and 
. $10.00 more for expense of cultivation, support 



STRAWS. 33 

himself and family comfortably and add something 
to his income, shoVs what the system has done to- 
wards attaining and maintaining a high state of 
fertility in the soil. How many farmers in this 
country, with one, two, or three'hundred acres of 
land, could, under the present system of growing 
crops and feeding stock, pay a rent of $10.00 per 
acre and Uve ? I will not attempt to answer. I do 
believe, however, that, if we were obhged to do so, 
wc could, and perhaps even more easily than our 
English neighbors, for our land is certainly natural- 
ly as productive as theirs. The following figures 
show that the advantage is in the fertiUty of the 
soil. The United States' census report 'for 1850 
shows that the average yield of wheat in this coun- 
try is gyi bushels per acre, while in England it is 
28, and in Scotland 29^. There is another item in 
the comparison with the English farmer which I 
cannot pass without mention, i. e., his whole time, 
attention and capital are devoted to his farm ; he 
has no other source of mcome. A large number 
of American farmers, I am ashamed to say, devote 
the greater part of their time, but only half of their 
attention and httle or none of their capital, to 
their business. I refer now to farmers with capi- 
tal, with a few hundred dollars, which they have 
saved out of their farms in prosperous times, but, 
mstead if keeping it employed in their business as 
they should, have invested it in uncertain stocks, 
promises to pay, etc. 

Money, as a concentrated force, is the lever which 
moves the commercial world. It sends the railroad 
puffing and blowing into every hamlet which beck- 
ons it, over a Niagara, through a mountain tunnel, 
under an EngHsh Channel,— anywhere. It cob- 
webs the land with electric wires, until New York, 



34 SOILING. 

Boston and Philadelphia are our next di^or neigh- 
bors, while England, France and Germany are 
just across the way. But money, as a divided 
force, falters before a streamlet, stumbles at a mole- 
hill, and comes to a dead halt at a stagnant pool. 
To have a business out of which the capital is tak- 
en to run another man's trade, is to rob that busi- 
ness of its lever power. A seductive speculation 
is a ** Will o' the Wisp" to the farmer who follows 
it. Thus his attention is divided between cultivat- 
ing the roots of evil and those of his growing 
crops. 

But to return to our subject. We were consid- 
ering the condition of the older countries and the 
manner of improving their soil. We need scarcely 
reflect to discover that our own country is fast ap- 
proaching the same conditions. Land is increas- 
ing in value. " Out west" is no longer out west, 
and farmers are beginning to realize, as never be- 
fore, that the productiveness of our soil must be 
increased, or we " be driven to the wall." Let us, 
then, learn the lesson indicated by the straws 
which point to a system of farming by which the 
productiveness of our soil will be increased instead 
of diminished. This means to increase the Tiumber 
of farm stock, which means to have more manure, 
which means an increase of power in the soil, 
which means abilitv to grow moie profitable crops, 
which means a larger income, which means better 
books, better education, warmer houses, a better 
seat in the cars, at the lecture, and in the church, 
which means independence. All these good things 
are the results of better farming, which is itself the 
result of 



STRAWS. 



35 



SOILING. 

What induced me to adopt the system ? When 
I was a lad, the farm on which I now reside was 
known as one of the best in the county. The deep 
gravelly loam of the valley never gave so bounti- 
ful harvests of spring crops, and the side hills fac- 
ing the rising sun, yielded, of wheat, 35 to 40 bush- 
els per acre. The pastures afforded the most nu- 
tritious grasses for flock and herd. On taking 
possession of the place years later, I was surprised 
at the change. The number of cattle had been 
decreased by half and the flock of sheep had disap- 
peared entirely. My first wheat crop from the 
field once considered the best, and over which, as 
a boy, I had driven the reaper, cutting 40 bushels 
per acre, measured but 15 hushels per acre. 1 
acknowledge a sad disappointment at the time, and 
I made the following calculations, from which the 
difference will be more apparent. 

Statement showing the Cost, and the Profit and Loss of growing 
15 and 40 Bushels of Wheat per acre. 





15 BUSHELS. 


40 BUSHELS. 




Dr. 


Cr. 


Dr. 


Cr. 


To Fitting the ground. 
To 2 bushels seed, at $i.io per bu., 
To Interest, at 7 per cent, on i acre, 
To harvesting and drawing to barn, 
To threshing, &c., at 6 cts. per bush. 
To marketing, ly^ cts. per bush., 
By cash for wheat at $r.io per bush. 


$5.00 

2.20 

8.75 

1-75 

.90 

.22 


$16.50 


$5.00 
2.20 

8.75 

2.00 

2.40 

.60 


$44 . 00 


Total. 
Balance, 


$18.82 
16.50 


$16.50 


$20.95 

■ ■ 


$44.00 
20.95 


Loss per acre, , .... 
Gain per acre,' 


.$2,32 


$23,05 



36 SOILING. 

For the i6 acres, the total loss on a product of 
only 15 bushels would be $27.12, while with a 
product of 40 bushels there would be a profit of 
368.80. The difference, per acre, in cost was only 
$2.13, but the difference in income was $27.50. 
What had become of the farm ? The land was all 
here, but the farm, — where was it? I soon discov- 
ered. It had gone to New York and Boston, — 
been sold by the bushel. The railroad was little 
by little, stealing it away ; the canal was peddling 
it out along the wharves of the metropolis. Nor 
was this all. The food had been taken out of the 
mouths of the stock, their number yearly growing 
less, and the few remaining, not receiving a proper 
supply of food, failed to make a profitable return. 
In fact, the whole superstructure of the farm was 
undermined. Thus it is that many broad acres, 
once productive, are to-day as deceptive as the ap- 
ples of Sodom. In taking a general survey of the 
subject, I came to the conclusion that the only 
way of redeeming the fertility of my soil would be 
by the proper application of barnyard manure. 
In conversing with the most prosperous farmers, I 
found invariably that their success was owing to 
their faith in manure. There was alreadv more 
stock on the place than could be properly fed, but 
not enough to keep the farm even in the condition 
in which I found it. And this, I said to myself, 
they call farming, — -'the most independent life that 
a man can lead ! " It seemed to me then the most 
dependent ; and it all depended on a single ques- 
tion,— if the soil is productive you may depend up- 
on a good crop ; if not, you may depend upon a 
poor one. A ten-acre clearing, full of stumps, 
which will raise wheat at a profit, affords more in- 
dependence than a hundred-acre farm, where it 



STRAWS. 37 

costs more to produce a crop than it does to bring 
it to market. About this time I chanced to read a 
work on ''Soiling," by the Hon. Josiah Quincy, in 
which he stated how the farmer, by adopting the 
system, would be enabled to keep four head of 
stock where, by pasturing, he could keep but one. 
This seemed to be the key by which I might un- 
lock the storehouse of the farm's capabilities, and 
thus I might again see these fields yield profitable 
harvests. 



38 SOILING. 

ADVANTAGES. 

By soiling is meant a system of feeding farm 
stock with grass, or other green forage, cut and 
brought to them from the held. The advantages 
which it offers to the farmer are numerous, but the 
principal reasons why it should be adopted may be 
enumerated, as follows : 

I St. — Saving of land. 

2d. — Saving of fences. 

3d. — Saving of food. 

4th. — The better condition and comfort of farm 
stock. 

5th. — The greater production of milk, beef, or 
butter. 

6th. — The increased quantity and quality of ma- 
nure. 

p7th. — The increased productiveness of the soil. 

The disadvantages of the system as compared 
with pasturing are, as follows : 

ist. — It requires extra labor. 

2d. — It keeps the stock in close confinement. 

That we mav satisfy ourselves of the truth or 
falsity of the above assertions, pro and con, let us 
consider them severally in their order. 

SAVING OF LABOR. 

Says the Hon. Josiah Quincy, whose experience 
in soiling covered a period of eighteen years, 
'* One acre soiled from will produce at least as 
much as three acres pastured in the usual way, 
and there is no proposition in nature more true 
than that any good farmer may maintain, upon 30 
acres ot good arable land, 20 head of cattle the 



ADVANTAGES. 39 

year round; " he adds, ''My own experience has 
always been less than this,— never having exceed- 
ed 17 acres for 20 head. -5^ * * I have kept the 
same amount of stock, by soiling, on 17 acres, that 
previously required 50." Says Mr. H. Stewart, of 
New Jersey, in The Country Gmtieinaji, " By soil- 
ing, J. D. Powell, of Winchester Co., keeps 100 
cows on 100 acres," and adds, '' with complete 
soiling, I have mvself kept 14 cows on [i acres the 
3'ear round, with the help of a few loads of brew- 
ers' grains and some bran and meal." Where land 
is m a high state of cultivation, some farmers claim 
to keep as many as seven or eight head by soiling, 
where they could keep but one by pasturing. I 
think, as a rule, it is safe to say that land in an or- 
dinary state of cultivation will support four head 
by soiling to every one pastured. My own expe- 
rience in soiling, most of the time, is that, for every 
head formerly pastured, I was able to keep three 
by soiling, and, at the same time, for every acre 
formerly plowed to crops, 1 was enabled to plow 
two. My farm contains 100 acres of arable land 
inside the fences. Previous to adopting the soil- 
ing system, it w^as our custom to cultivate, on the 
average, forty acres, leaving sixty acres for pasture 
and hay. The average number of live stock (1,000 
lbs. each) that was supported from the sixty acres, 
including the coarse fodder from the cultivated 
portion, was twelve. By soiling, during the last 
two seasons, I have been able to keep, on the aver- 
age, the equivalent of 36 head weighing 1,000 
pounds each, as follows; 13 cows, 5 yearlings, 4 
calves, 4 horses, 2 colts, and 70 long-wooled sheep, 
— a total of 98 head. During the same time, we 
have had under cultivation (exclusive of land devot- 
ed to soiling crops) 70 acres. The remaining 30 



40 SOILING. 

acres, therefore, supported yearly the equivalent of 
36 head weighing 1,000 pounds each. Some of the 
coarse fodder, — barley straw and stalks, was con- 
sumed during the winter, and, in addition, I have 
bought a few tons of cotton seed meal and bran to 
keep up a good flow of milk during the winter. 1 
feed no grain while soiling during the summer. * 
Thus, where, by pasturing, it required 60 acres to 
support 12 head, by soiling, I was able to keep, in 
better condition, three times the number on just 
half the amount of ground. It will also be seen 
that, where, by pasturing, I could cultivate but 40 
acres a year for crops, by soiling 1 harvested Ijo 
acres, nearly doubling my acreage witJioiit buying 
it. It may be asked, how could a farm maintain 
such a heavy cropping? I would reply that by soil- 
ing, we were producing and saving three times the 
amount of manure, the value of which certainly 
was double that made while pasturing, and thus, 
while we were cultivating nearly twice as many 
acres as formerly, there was produced nearly six 
times as much manure. 

Where the system is practiced, nearly or quite 
all of the inside fences may be removed, and the 
land before occupied by them may thus be devoted 
to crops. About May ist, 1880, we turned twelve 
head of milch cows to pasture in a field containing 
41^ acres. At the end of the fourth week, I was 
obliged to take them out as they were shrinking 
greatly in flow of milk and the pasture exhausted. 
They were turned into the sheep pasture until June 
7th, when we began soiling, keeping the same 12 
head upon 4 acres during the next four months, 
making i acre soiled from, fully equal to 4 acres 
pastured from. From the 43^ acres pastured, I 
obtained, at 50c. per week for each head, a feeding 



ADVANTAGES. ^t 

value of $24.00, — from the 4 acres soiled, at the 
same rate, a feeding value of $96.00, — a difference 
in favor of soiling over pasturing, on 4 acres, of 
$72.00, leaving the increased value of manure to 
pay the expense of growing and feeding the crops. 
This establishes no rule, but is sufficient to illus- 
trate the great saving of land and the economy of 
feed. 



SAVING OF FENCES. 

In some sections of the old countries where the 
soiling system is generally practiced, the farmers 
have done away with interior and boundary fences, 
setting land marks to indicate lines, and thereby 
working every foot of land. Says Mr. A. W. 
Cheever, in The Country Gentleman^ '' Another 
great advantage I find in soiling over pasturing is 
the saving of fences. None of my mowing or cul- 
tivated fields are pastured at all, so I have been ena- 
bled to dispense with all inside fences, and lately 
have been giving up the use of road fencing also." 

No farmer will disagree with me in saying that 
farm fences are great nuisances, harbors for rats, 
mice, and vermin, most convenient places for nox- 
ious weeds and grasses, and great hindrances in 
every stage of farm work. For instance, if we 
wish to cultivate two fields adjoining each other 
but separated by a fence, we must stop and turn 
about as we approach the fence from either side in 
in plowing, harrowing, cultivating, rolling, drilling, 
reaping and raking. Thus, in growing a crop of 
corn, with a fence forty rods long, it would require 
about 1,500 or 1,600 turnings, and for wheat 1,200 
or 1,400, according to the mode of culture. All 



42 SOILING. 

this wastes time, besides trampling down the ground 
and crops. As Mr. Quincy says, '' The whole farm 
may be divided and cultivated with precise refer- 
ence to the state of the soil, when the plow runs 
the length of the furrow determined by the judg- 
ment of the proprietor." His farm at one time 
had 5 miles of interior fence, (equal to i,6oo rods), 
of which he says, " I have now not one rod of inte- 
rior fence ; of course, the saving is great, distinct 
and undeniable^ My own farm was at one time 
divided into 17 fields, which required over 1,000 
rods of interior fence, the interest on the cost of 
which would pay the taxes on the entire property, 
or pay for all extra labor of soiling 12 or 14 head 
of stock, to say nothing of the cost of yearly re- 
pairs. . I built some 300 rods of fence soon after 
coming on the farm. It hardly made a showing 
compared with what was needed. It would have 
required an outlay of at least $1,000 to put all the 
fences in proper shape, and for what? Simply to 
keep 12 head of stock from destroying the crops. 
Each field must be fenced, for, by the rotation of 
crops, each field was in turn pastured. 

Reader, if vou are a farmer, don't build another 
rod of fence until you have given the soiling sys- 
tem a fair trial and find it a failure. My farm has 
now but 7 fields, and I am yearly reducing the 
number. Says D. S. Curtis, on the cost of fencing, 
\nth.&AgnciiltnralReport(A 1859, "The most or- 
dinary plain board fences cost from 8 to 10 shillings 
per rod, and more in many places, while rail fences 
are often still more costly. But, taking the lowest 
estimate, $1,00 per rod, the expense of enclosing 
an eighty-acre lot would be $480.00 ; two cross 
fences, one each way, throwing the lot into four 
20-acre fields would cost $240.00 more, a larger 



ADVANTAGES. 43 

sum than the value of the land, in many locaHties." 
As Mr. E. W. Stewart says, " Soiling effectually 
settles the fence question." 



THE SAVING OF EGO I). 

There are several ways in which farm stock de- 
stroy their feed while at pasture, — by tramping it 
under foot, by their dung and urine, and by lying 
on it. The more productive the pasture, the great- 
er the loss. Just how much is wasted by these 
means, I do not know. Some estimate it at one- 
third, others at a half. Another item of more or 
less importance is that it is not so exhaustive of 
the soil to grow a crop of hay from it as to use it 
as a pasture, especially if the grass of the pasture 
be closely cropped, thus having the soil more ex- 
posed to the sun. All these objections are over- 
come by soiling. The food may be cut at just the 
proper time, when the leaves and blossoms have 
reached their full development. It is often noticed 
that, here and there in a field, patches of distaste- 
ful grasses or noxious weeds are left untouched 
by the stock, except in case of great hunger, and 
allowed to ripen and go to seed. The seed is 
scattered about the field and pressed into the soil 
under the hoofs of the feeding stock. In time the 
pasture thus becomes only a garden of weeds. 
This would never occur were the practice of cut- 
ting adopted. Mr. Youatt, an English author, says, 
m his valuable work, The Complete Grazier, " If a 
close consumption of plants is the object principal- 
ly to be regarded, it is evident that the benefit to 
be derived from soiling will be very great ; for ex- 
perience has clearly proved that cattle will eat 



44 SOILING. 

many plants with avidity, if cut and given to them 
in the barn, which they would never touch while 
growing in the field." 

What may be lett by the horses when soiled, is 
eaten with relish by the cows ; and, if any is left in 
the mangers of the cows, it may be given to the 
pigs ; and thus, by soiling, not a particle oi feed 
need be wasted. 



The better Condition and greater Com- 
fort OF Farm Stock. 

The difference in the condition of animals soiled 
and those pastured shows a decided advantage in 
favor of soiling. During the heat of the day, they 
may be kept in cool stables, darkened to exclude the 
files which, during the greater portion of the sea- 
son, torment them and drive them into a state little 
short of frenzy. Here they are also protected and 
sheltered from driving storms and the burning sun, 
and are secure from jumping into fields of grow- 
ing grain or fruit orchards, and from injuring 
themselves or causing their own death by over- 
eating. They are also protected against eating 
noxious weeds, which often injures the quality of 
milk and butter, against drinking muddy and im- 
pure water, against worry and annoyance from 
dogs, and, above all, against hunger and thirst. 
These, and all other evils incident to pasturing, 
are reomved by proper management and well con- 
structed stables and sheds, and reveal the strong 
points in favor of the soiling system. 

Mr. E. W. Stewart, in relating an experiment to 
satisfy himself in regard to the comparative condi- 



ADVANTAGES. 45 

tions of cattle soiled and pastured, says, in sub- 
stance, that he put five steers and heifers into a 
good pasture for three months during the best part 
of the pasturing season, while others of the same 
age and condition were soiled, and that on compari- 
son, at the end of the three months, those soiled 
were found to be in decidedly the better condition. 
The same cows, pastured one season and soiled 
the next, proved that their condition was better 
when soiled. His cows, soiled for five successive 
years, kept in good condition and uniform health. 

It must be observed that all varieties of ruminat- 
ing animals are naturally averse to any great 
amount of exercise to obtain their food, but, if it be 
supplied with abundance, fill themselves quickly 
and lie down to enjoy chewing their cud, and it is 
then, properly, that the animal is feeding. 

On this subject, I cannot do better than to quote 
from H. A Willard, A. M., in his valuable work on 
" Dairy Husbandry" (p. 48) ; " It is not necessary 
that cows should be continually feeding, for we 
can see from the peculiar structure of their stom- 
achs that nature intended a considerable portion 
of time to be spent at rest, that the process of ru- 
mination and digestion be perfected. The first 
stomach seems to be simply a receptacle for stor- 
ing up a quantity of food to be used and enjoyed 
at leisure. The food, as it goes into the first stom- 
ach is very imperfectly masticated. After having 
filled this receptacle, the animal rests from her la- 
bors and is now prepared to enjoy her food, which 
is thrown back, in small quantities, into the mouth, 
where it is chewed and then goes into the third 
and fourth stomachs to be properly assimilated 
and digested. Hence, rest is required, and to de- 
prive the animal of a comfortable resting place, or 



4-6 SOILING. 

to drive her out in the hot sun while in the act of 
rumination or masticating her food, is not only 
cruel, but a piece of intolerable stupidity. ^ ^ 
The principle is true, whether acknowledged or 
not, that the moi'e comu^rtable we make our milk 
stock, the better will be the results. If, during the 
heat of the day, cattle seek shade and lie down to 
rest, their quietness, comfort and enjoyment will 
add more to the milk pail than food taken in dis- 
comfort and excessive exercise." 

It is also essential that the stock should be sup- 
plied with water, pure, plentiful and near at hand; 
for, if obliged to travel some distance to get it, 
they will "go dry," or wait until severe thirst com- 
pels them to seek it, which is not only a source of 
annoyance to the stock, but, in the case of dairy 
cows, a loss to the owner. Milk cannot be made 
without water, and when it is secreted largely, a 
large amount of water is absolutely required. 
Milk contains at least 75 to 80 per cent, of water. 
Here again the soiling system shows its superiority, 
since it affords the easiest and most economical 
way of supplying stock with water. Instead of 
haying to furnish it in every field where rotation 
of crops and pasture is practiced, one good never- 
failing well or cistern at the barn is all that is 
required. On many farms, this is indeed a most 
valuable consideration. It has been my practice 
during the past three years to stable my cows dur- 
ing the day, letting them have the run of the barn- 
yard during the night to enjoy the cool air and 
exercise as much as they please, and take generous 
drafts of cool water from a large tub supplied by 
a living spring. The yard is kept well Httered 
with straw. The stables are in the basement of a 
barn 30 by 40 -feet. The windows are- dartened 



ADVANTAGES. 47 

during the season when flies are troublesome. 
The cows are provided with comfortable bedding 
of shavings, or straw, or both. They seem to take 
sohd comfort eating and chewing their cud. Ob- 
serve those in the field wearily seeking their food, 
parched by the oppressively hot and dry air, and 
fighting flies until nearly wild ; and then step into 
a cool, dark stable from which the flies have been 
excluded, and you will see a picture of comfort 
that I could not describe were I to devote a whole 
chapter to the attempt. Some are quietly feeding, 
some fast asleep, while others are diligently chew- 
insa: their cuds, roUino-them about in their mouths 
hke some delicious morsels exudmg nectar. In the 
expressions of their faces and in their clear bright 
eyes, you may read the unmistakable signs of con- 
tc7tt?ncnt, comfort and JicaltJi. 

If you wish to thoroughly test this question, 
turn half of your cows to pasture and soil the rest. 
Anv time during July, August, September or Oc- 
tober, notice the cows coming from the field at 
milking time. They look tired and hungry, as if 
coming from a hard da3^'s work, guant and thirsty, 
with languid step and melancholy look. Now 
open the stable door and let out the the cows that 
are soiled. Thev act more like " school boys from 
their books," each head erect, step sprightly, hair 
sleek, stomach full, and ready for a frolic. This is 
no fancy sketch, — indeed, 1 feel as if T had failed 
to fully represent the great ccmtrast as I have wit- 
nessed it in mv own yard. I feel safe in saying 
that I think no candid farmer, however predjudic- 
ed he may be against stabling his cows in summer, 
would need further proof to convince him that, so 
far as the healthful condition and greater comfort 
of the stock are concerned, the soiling system af- 



48 SOILING. 

fords the most gratifying results, and adds mate- 
rially to the 



GREATER PRODUCTION OF BEEF, MILK AND BUTTER. 

On this question, there can be but one opinion, 
i. e., that to produce either beef, milk or butter, 
the result will depend upon the amount of food 
consumed, and the profit will largely depend upon 
furnishing our stock with an abundance of succulent 
food during the entire year. To accomplish this 
independently of parched pastures, and drouth, is ?iot 
a difficult matter by the practice of soiling. 

The following testimony as to the superiority 
of the system, was given by Mr. E. W. Stewart, in 
an article in the Country Gentleman, (1877, p. 42.) : 

" We shall find the same reasons apply, in still 
greater force, in the growth of beef or mutton. 
Animals intended for slaughter should have differ- 
ent treatment from those whose value depends up- 
on the development of muscle. Those reared for 
labor need much exercise, as well as appropriate 
food, for strengthening the bony and muscular sys- 
tem ; but those intended for human food, need only 
so much exercise as promotes health and a vigor- 
ous appetite. And as we have seen soiling give a 
greater command over the supply of food at all 
times, so when properly conducted it must afford 
a greater certainty of rapid growth. We have 
easily grown calves, on green food fed in the yard, 
together with skimmed milk, that weighed 700 
pounds at 10 months old. We have uniformly 
found this system more favorable to the growth of 
young animals than pasturing — that less grain or 
milk in addition is required to produce equal 



ADVANTAGES. 49 

growth. And steers and heifers, during the 
second year, will make a steady and uniform 
growth on the full soiling system, with the liberty 
of a small lot lor exercise. Animals for beef or 
milk are not grown for muscular strength, and 
require only a moderate amount of exercise. They 
need most full feeding, fresh air and kind attention. 
The skillful feeder has here an opportunity to ob- 
serve the wants of each animal, and may always 
supply them. "^ * ''^ 

There must be no standing still if a steer is to 
gain two pounds for every day of its age up to 
900 days. German and French beef growers 
adopt largely a strict soiling system, and produce 
a higher average weight at a given age than any 
pasturing people has attained. 

Soiling also offers the opportunity of doing the 
principal fattening in warm weather, when not 
more than 75 per cent, of the food is required to 
make the same gain as in winter. We tested the 
the comparative effect of soiling and pasturing on 
the same class of animals, by putting five two-year- 
old steers and heifers, weighing 4,500 pounds, into 
a good pasture, while five, of the same age and 
condition, weighing 4,450 pounds, were soiled, 
with exercise in a small yard, and at the end of 
four months, those in pasture had gained 625 
pounds, and the five soiled had gained 750 pounds, 
with nothing but green soiling food, making the 
two lots equal in kind of food. The pasture al- 
though good and abundant when the experiment 
began, did not continue throughout equally good 
on account of dry weather, while the soiling food 
was given in equal abundance to the end." 

Mr. Brown, of Mankle, Scotland, tried the com- 
parative merits of soiling and pasturing in fatten- 



50 SOILING. 

ing 48 steers, equally divided. The 24 soiled 
brought ^377, and the 24 pastured ^^342, — a differ- 
ence in favor of soiling of ;^35, or a profit of over 
$7.00 per head, to say nothing of the saving of land 
and the increase of manure. 

In regard to the greater production of milk Mr. 
Stewart relates " the most remarkable test of the 
two systems, published b}^ Dr. Rhode, of the 
Eidena Royal Acadeni}^ of Agriculture, of Prussia. 
It was conducted through seven years of pasturing 
and then seven years of soiling. Mr. Hermann is 
the experimenter. The pasturing began in 1853, 
and ended in 1859 — the soiling began in i860, and 
ended in 1866. From 40 to 70 cows were pastur- 
ed each year, and a separate account kept with 
each cow. The lowest average per cow is 1385 
quarts in 1855, when seventy cows were kept, and 
the highest 1941 quarts in 1859, when forty cows 
were pastured, and the greatest quantity given by 
one cow was 2988 quarts. The average increased 
during the last four years from 1400 to 1941 quarts. 
The average per cow for the whole seven years of 
pasturing was 1583 quarts. In the soiling experi- 
ment twenty-nine to thirty-eight cows were kept, 
and the lowest average per cow was 2930 quarts 
in 1862, and the highest per cow 4000 quarts in 
1866. The highest quantity given by one cow 
was 5 1 10 quarts in 1866. The average per cow for 
the whole seven years of soiling was 3442 quarts. 
The yield of the same cow is compared for differ- 
ent years. Cow No. 4 gave in i860, 3636 quarts ; 
in 1863,4570 quarts: in 1866, 4960 quarts. Cow- 
No. 24 gave in i860, 3293 quarts; in 1863, 4483; 
in 1866, 4800 quarts. 

Many of these cows were the same in both ex- 
periments ; and it will be seen that the same cow 



ADVANTAGES. 5 1 

increased from year to year, showing what full 
feeding will do, and also another important fact, 
that this full feeding was conducive to the health 
of the cow during the seven years." 

Dr. Wright says of soiled cows that they *' will 
at least equal, if not surpass those kept in the usual 
way, HI both quantity and quality of milk, and the 
dairyman, by adopting this method, finds his profits 
enhanced nearly one-fourth." An English author 
says, " The cows used to stall feeding will yield a 
much greater quantity of milk and will increase 
faster in weight when fattening than those which go 
into the field." 

I have made repeated experiments which satisfy 
myself in regard to the increase of milk and butter, 
and, with the exception of the first month or two 
(May and June) I have never failed to get better 
results from the soiling system. There is, doubt- 
less, no system of feeding (with forage alone,) that 
will excel in the production of milk and butter, 
that of a bountiful pasture of nutritious grasses 
during the months of May and June. But, from 
this time on, the soiling system has a decided ad- 
vantage since, as soon as the pasture begins to fail, 
there is a corresponding failure in the flow of 
milk. 

The author ol " Ogden Farm Papers," in the 
American Agriculturist^ has a very interesting art- 
icle on the subject of soiling, in which he says, 
" The product of the cows will be more in the case 
of soiling than in the other. In June, I was mak- 
ing a very satisfactory amount of butter. So were 
the pasture men all around me. Now that the 
drouth has (in spite of passing rains) begun to affect 
the pastures, their product is falling off and by 
September, will be materially lessened. My prod- 



52 SOILING. 

uct is increasing week by week, until, from the 
same number of cows, it is now over ten per cent, 
more than in June, and, an experience of previous 
years has shown, it will be fully ten per cent, more 
in September than it is now." 



INCREASE IN QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF MANURE. 

No farmer needs to be told that, if he has an 
abundant supply of manure, he can raise large 
crops. The want of it, more than any other 
one thing connected with farming, makes thous- 
ands of farmers and their families slaves to unre- 
mitting toil, drudging through life, selling away 
annually the fertility of their soil, — their birth-right, 
when, if one quarter of the labor that is spent in 
trying to subsist by cultivating exhausted soils, 
were turned to accumulating a restorative, inde- 
pendence would take the place of dependence, and 
the farmer enjoy all the comforts implied by well- 
filled barns and granaries, and, instead of dropping 
into a premature grave, live to enjoy a green old 
age, with ene/gies and faculties unimpaired. 

Manure is the very life and soul of husbandry. 
It is the basis of vegetable production, — the sub- 
structure on which alone the farmer can hope to 
build successfully. The attainment of manure by 
the soiling system is one of the greatest and most 
characteristic benefits to be derived from its prac- 
tice, and the amount which thus naturally accumu- 
lates far exceeds all anticipation. All who have 
had practical experience agree, so far as I have 
been able to learn, that the value of the manure 
made under this system, when properly conduct- 



ADVANTAGES. 53 

ed, is worth, at the very least estimate, twice as 
much as that made while pasturing where it de- 
stroys as much feed as its virtue enriches the soil. 
A great part is lost by falling upon rocks, among 
bushes and in water courses. It is evaporated by 
the sun. It is washed away by the rains. Insects 
destroy a part. The residue (a dry hard cake) lies 
sometimes a year upon the ground, often impeding 
vegetation and never enriching the earth in any- 
thing like the proportion it would do if it had been 
deposited under cover. My own experience in 
keeping 12 cows, allowing them the run of the 
barnyard at night, is that they produced, while in 
the stable, one ton of manure every three days. 
Sufihcient shavings are used to absorb the liquid 
portion. We will say that what was made in the 
yard during the night was no better than it would 
have been if dropped in the field, but that made in 
the stable and kept under cover was worth twice 
as much. The one ton would be worth at least 
$2.00, but, if made in pasture, only $1.00. The in- 
creased value of stable manure would therefore be 
33 cents per day. I have found that it requires 
2yz hours extra labor per day to soil 12 head of 
milch cows, and during the last three seasons this 
labor has cost me 6 cents per hour, or 15 cents per 
day : which affords a profit in the manure alone of 
18 cents per day. This profit is sufficient to pay 
all other expenses. Therefore, I do not hesitate to 
say that the increase in quantity and qualit}^ of 
manure is ample to pay the expense of all extra 
labor incurred by soiling over pasturing. 

But the saving of land, of fences, of food, the 
better condition and greater comfort of farm stock, 
the increase in the production of beef, milk and 
butter, and the attainment of manure, are all sub- 



54 SOILING. 

servient and subordinate to the one prime object 
and benefit to be derived from the system, i. e. ; 



THE INCREASED PRODUCTIVENESS OF THE SOIL. 

I think no farmer could, within the last few 
years, travel through the southern states and see 
the deserted, fenceless farms, once the abodes of 
farmers whose soil and wealth were unparalelled, 
— but now the haunts of the emancipated slaves, — 
without recognizing at once that it is not on ac- 
count of the political condition of affairs (as the 
politician views it), not so much on account of the 
ignorance of the black (as the learned men inform 
us), but for the want of fertility m their soil. 
Where is there a fertile country in any civilized 
land, which is not prosperous and peaceful and 
desirable to dwell in ? There is probably no sec- 
tion of land in the world that nature has made 
more desirable to live in and has better fitted for 
the highest development of agriculture, than these 
southern states, — a climate unequaled, navigable 
rivers, in number and length unsurpassed, open to 
the traffic of the world, — in fact, a better site for 
the location of a Garden of Eden could scarcely be 
found. The unfortunate sons of sires whose curse 
it was to have the means to destroy without the 
knowledge to save the soil, decline to accept these 
exhausted fields, and push on to the west, leaving 
the negro, without the means to improve or the 
knowledge to restore it, to lounge about the prem- 
ises in shiftless and melancholy despondency. 

There are many sections in the north where the 
condition of farms is but little better. Sons are re- 



ADVANTAGES. 55 

fusing to follow their father's vocation. Why ? 
Because there is no money in it. The lieids have 
been robbed of their fertility, — sold by the bushel 
in the markets of. a selfish and greedy world, and 
washed into the sea. It is no wonder that farmers' 
sons decline to become slaves to the drudgery that 
is required to obtain a living from their worn out, 
exhausted soils. The land is therefore left to the 
immigrant who, coming from a land of want, may 
be willing to live half fed, half clothed, without 
educating his children, and whose wife and daught- 
ers constitute the " help" of the house and farm. 
Such may manage to live, and, if hard physical la- 
bor will do it, manage to pull through. But an 
American, educated at the present day in our com- 
mon schools, cannot and ivill not follow farming 
unless he can see money in it. He must have 
books, papers, recreation, and distinction. He is 
willing to toil night and day to secure these, but, 
if it is not to be found in the soil, he will seek it 
elsewhere. 

The first, greatest, and most important question 
that can occupy the attention of eastern farmers, is, 
in my opinion, how to restore the fertility of our 
soils ; and, as to the western farmer, how he may 
preserve it. If the reasons I have already given 
have nothing in them of sufficient importance to 
induce the farmer to adopt the soiling system, the 
fact that it affords tJie surest and most economical zvay 
of increasing the fertility of his soil, should lead him 
to give the system a fair and thorough trial. And, 
again, to the farmer who wishes to add more acres 
to those he already owns, the soiling system affords 
a certain means of doing so without buying more 
land. In my own experience, as already shown, 
soiling has doubled the acreage of my cultivated 



56 SOILING. 

land, it has increased the quantity of manure three 
times, and the quality of it five or six times. I find, 
in looking about, that we have about as man}^ head 
of stock as are generall}^ found .on a farm of 300 
acres, and that we cultivate as many acres for 
crops as are cultivated on the average farm of 200 
acres. My farm is by no means in a high state of 
cultivation, but perhaps a little higher than the 
the average. The system has done no more for 
me than it may do for any other farmer who will 
conform to its requirements, which are simple but 
exacting. 



OBJECTIONS. 57 

OBJECTIONS TO SOILING. 



EXTRA LABOR. 

The extra labor of soiling over pasturing is 
greatly magnified by most farmers. There is no 
excuse for its costing over two cents per day for 
each head. A small number may cost more : a 
large number, less. In my own case, after the first 
season, it has never required more than 3 hours 
per day of extra labor, and, for the last two sea- 
sons, not over 2>2 hours, for 12 head. This includes 
all the hand labor except plowing the ground. 
We have shown how the increased value of ma- 
nure fully compensated for the extra labor, leaving 
for the profit the saving ol land, fences and food, 
the better condition of the stock and the increase 
of beef, milk or butter. In fact, I am not able to 
den}^ that any one of these seven advantages will, 
in itself, be sufficient to offset the cost of all extra 
labor involved. 

'' Soiling," says Mr. H. Stewart, '' is a little more 
laborious than pasturing, but one dollar spent in 
extra labor is replaced ten times over in saving of 
feed, saving of land, and saving of manure. 1 have 
found labor very much cheaper than feed." Again 
he says, "Besides 15 cows, there were 3 horses, 7 
heifers, i bull {26 head) and some pigs. All the 
cleaning, feeding and attendance on these animals 
was done by a boy of 14 years for one year, and 
the boy had considerable time to spend in field 
work. -5^ -^ -" Xhe extra labor involved is well 
repaid by the extra manure made, and the gain 
from the cattle and the increased fertilitv of the 



58 SOILING. 

soil will be clear profit. The bug-bear of labor is 
a phantom. It is imaginary. The need is more 
for head work than for hand work." 

Another writer in the Country Gentleman, who 
has had many years experience in soiling, says ; " It 
requires one man put half of his time cutting, 
hauling to the barn, and feading 48 cows, at $1.00 
per day." (a trifle over one cent per cow). 

I never could see why a farmer should object to 
extra labor when there is found a profit in it. It 
is rarely that a man accumulates wealth from the 
labor of his own hands. The carpenter, black- 
smith, shoemaker, or other mechanic who ever 
becomes well-to-do must owe his prosperity some- 
what to the labor of other men's hands. There is 
a great amount of work to be performed upon a 
farm that would pay a handsome profit. But, as 
it does not always return to the farmer directly in 
cash, and sometimes onl}^ after an interval of 
years, he is inclined to apply himself to such work 
only as puts the ''almighty dollar" directly in his 
pocket. This, I think, is the chief reason why the 
soiling system is not more generally practised. 
Many do not like to see a crop of green rye, oats 
or peas cut down and fed to stock, when, by wait- 
ing a few weeks longer, they could harvest it and 
deliver the grain to market for cash. It has often 
been remarked to me by visitors at my place, who 
have witnessed the cutting of a splendid crop of 
oats or rye as they were just heading out, " What 
a pity ! " It is a greater pity in my estimation, to 
see a man so short-sighted as to become '* penny- 
wise and pound foolish." Such men try to see 
how little they can feed and keep their stock alive, 
begrudging even the insufficient fodder. They go 
on year after year, plowing wheat after wheat, year- 



OBJECTIONS. 59 

ly reducing their stock and the fertiHty of their soil, 
and grumbUng because ''farming don't pay." I 
have no sympathy with such men. They are un- 
worthy of the name of fanner. 



LACK OF EXERCISE. 

In regard to feeding stock for profit, Mr. VVil- 
lard says ; " The quantity of milk may be increased 
if certain circumstances and conditions are ob- 
served. And first among these conditions is quiet- 
ness and freedom from anything hke labor or extra 
exertion on the part of the cow. A certain amount 
ot exercise may be needed for health, but all exer- 
cise produces a waste of the animal structure, 
which must be repaired by food. The first office 
of food is to support respiration and repair the 
natural waste of the body, and, if the waste is ex- 
cessive by reason of excessive labor, the food will 
go first to supply this waste and, after that, for the 
production of milk. Hence, those who study to 
get large results from milch cows are careful to 
keep the animals as quiet as possible, avoiding exces- 
sive travel or labor, taking care that there be no 
disturbing cause for excitement, such as fear, 
anxiety, or solicitude, for these waste food and 
check the secretion of milk to a much greater ex- 
tent than most people imagine." 

As to keeping the cows confined, however, the 
soiling system does not require it any more than 
pasturing. Stock soiled may be fed in large racks 
in the barnyard, or a small enclosure, where they 
may have the same liberty as in the field without 
destroying their food by tramping on it, &c. My 



6o SOILING. 

first experience was to feed in racks about the 
yard, but I soon abandoned it, for various reasons : 

I St. — The master cows w^ould occupy lO or 12 
feet of a rack, and, all others had to keep off. 

2d. — The timid and weak ones did not get their 
share. 

3d. — There was more danger of' their hooking 
each other. 

4th. — It required more feed. 

5th. — The animals were unprotected from flies 
and storms. 

6th. — The manure was not so good. 

All these objections were to be overcome by 
stabling. The extra labor of cleaning the stables 
and supplying them with bedding was amply com- 
pensated for, because the cows were much more 
easily and quickly milked, and no chasing about 
the yard nor clubbing with milk stools, &c. 
Stabled, the cows could be milked as they should 
be, at regular intervals, at six o'clock, morning and 
evening, instead of before sunrise and after sun- 
down, as farmers are obliged to do in fly time, or 
endanger their sight and tempers. My plan has 
been to allow them the run of a well littered 
yard during the night, so that they may enjoy as 
much exercise in the cool night air as they require. 

Mr. Volney Lacy, ol Caledonia. N. Y., soils 
from 40 to 60 head of grade Durhams, which, dur- 
ing the winter, are never allowed to leave their 
stables, except long enough to drink, and, during 
the summer, never leave his barn3^ard. He has 
cows in the herd 8 and 10 years old, that were 
raised on the place and have never been out of the 
barnyard. A thriftier, healthier or more uniform 
looking herd of cows I never saw. He has a farm 
of over 200 acres without a rod of interior fence 



SOILING CROPS. 6l 

upon it. He has practiced soiling for the last 14 
years. I shall always remember my visit to his 
place with pleasure. He is a farmer. 



SOILING CROPS. 



In regard to the different forage crops that may 
be used for soiling, as they are numerous and 
various, they must be selected by the soiler with 
reference to the nature of his soil, and the condi- 
tion of his farm and stock. We will notice only 
those that have come into general use for this 
purpose. 

RYE. 

This, by reference to the foregoing tables of the 
relative value of crops, will be seen to be, for more 
than one reason, very valuable. We see that, as a 
green food, it ranks second in the list. There is 
probably no other plant grown for soiUng which 
furnishes such an abundance of food early in the 
season. It occupies the ground when no other 
crop, except wheat, will grow. It is far less sensi- 
tive to cold than wheat, and its vegetation is more 
rapid. It may also be cultivated longer on the 
same soil than any other crop of cereals, as it is 
far less exhaustive to the soil. It will produce a 
fair yield where wheat will not pay the expense of 
growing. For these reasons it is also one of the 
best crops to grow as a green manure, as it is 
equal, ton for ton, to ordinary barnyard manure. 



62 SOILING. 

In the soiling system, this is no small item for con: 
sideration, as, in the fall of the year, nearly all the 
ground that will be required for soiling the com- 
ing season may be sown to rye and what remains 
unconsumed in the spring may be plowed under 
for manure, thus saving drawing, piling and spread- 
ing. 

Dr. Hamlin, in his valuable work on ** Farming 
with Green Manure," says, " When we compare it 
(rye) with barnyard manure its greatest value as a 
green dressing becomes apparent. I have seen 
fifteen tons per acre growing on the 8th of May, 
and this was ascertained by careful measurement." 

This makes indeed a very cheap fertilizer, viz : 
seed, $2.00, and interest on the value of the land 
from October until May (8 months) $4.00, or a 
total cost of only $6.00 for 1 5 tons of green manure. 
The same amount of barnyard manure could not 
be bought, drawn to the field and spread for less 
than $20.00. Rye should be fed during the younger 
stages of its growth. After the heads are formed 
it soon becomes tough and stock reject it. If cut 
before heading, on very rich soil it will sprout and 
grow again, some claim to obtain two or three 
cuttings, allowing the last one to ripen for seed. 



BARLEY. 

This is a valuable crop for early spring and late 
fall sowing, and is quite indispensable to farmers 
living in a latitude north of the southern boundary 
line of New York, especially if no preparation has 
been made the previous fall by sowing rye, or 
where farmers may wish to pasture during the 



SOILING CROPS. 63 

months of Mav and June, and soil the remainder of 
the season. ' In this latitude (Western New York), 
it may be sown earlier in the season than any other 
crop, as it vviil sprout and grow at a lower tem- 
perature. It will also withstand late and early 
frosts. Mr. A. W. Che^ver, of the New England 
Farmer, says, '' Two year's experience with barley 
for cutting in September, October and November, 
shows that it is very valuable for late fall feeding, 
as it is not much injured by frosts. Some of my 
neighbors have been cutting it this season (1879) 
even after the ground was frozen." For this pur- 
pose, the six-rowed barley is said to better with- 
stand the cold than the two-rowed variety. Says 
Mr. Flint {Grasses and Forage Plants, p. 164), '' it 
has passed into a six regular rowed variety, which 
is a winter grain and endures more severe cold." 



CORN. 

There is doubtless no other forage crop that will 
produce more tons of fodder per acre than corn, 
and this quality strongly recommends itto'persons 
hving in a thickly populated district and whose 
acreage is therefore limited. 

On good land, half a square rod of corn, in drills 
two feet apart, will be found sufficient to support 
one cow a day (24 hours) ; and, on land in a high 
state of cultivation, a quarter of a square rod has 
been found sufficient. In the first instance, we 
have, from an acre, 320 days feeding for one cow, 
and, in the second, enough to support three full- 
grown cows 200 days. In selecting a variety, the 
kind that is found to be the most leafy and, at the 



64 




"SOU" FODDER CORN. 

same time, not too coarse in the stalk, is generally 
considered to be the best adapted to the soiling 
system. Stowell's Evergreen, Blunt's Prolific, 
Western Dent, and the common field varieties are 
largely used. Sorghum (sugar cane) is highly 
prized by some. 



SOILING CROPS. 65 

It should be sown in drills wide enough to culti- 
vate. When sown broadcast, the leaves, which are 
the most important part of the plant, stop short of 
full development, the stalk is weak, and liable to be 
thrown down by storms and has not the strength to 
right itself. Sow 2 to 2i^bushels per acre, in drills 
2 to 2i^ feet apart. It is hardly necessary to add 
that the ground should be well manured and culti- 
vated. Mr. Harris Lewis says he has found Stow- 
ell's " Evergfreen" sweet corn makes the richest 
milk of all the plants he has tried. 

A variety known as the " Sou" Fodder Corn — 
represented by the accompanying illustration — is 
very highly recommended by those who have tried 
it. Possessing as it does, all the requirements 
most desirable either for soiling or ensilage, it 
must soon rank as a very valuable variety as its 
leaves are very zvide and very numerous. The stalk 
is small, growing upon rich soil, from " 12 to 14 
feet high," and it is said to contain a large per 
cent, of saccharine matter. I shall give it a trial. 



OATS, OR OATS AND PEAS. 

For the production of milk, oats, or oats and 
,peas (^ peas, — common field variety), make a val- 
uable crop. As far as my experience goes, I may 
say, that this is my favorite crop for milch cows. 

Sow in the spring, as early as the ground will 
permit, and begin to cut when the oats are head- 
ing out, — the peas will then be leavmg blossom 
and forming pods. It is also an excellent soihng 
crop for sheep, especially when suckhng lambs, 
also for mares suckling colts. I also feed it quite 



66 ■ SOILING. 

extensively to work horses, in which case I prefer 
the plant to be somewhat further advanced in 
growth. In a recent letter from Mr. Crozier, of 
Long Island, after mentioning several of the lead- 
ing crops that he uses for soiling, he says, " I also 
grow that most valuable crop for soiling, oats and 
peas, 07te of the best crops lean grozv^ Mr. T. Brown, 
in the Cou?itry Gentleman, gives it as his experience* 
that oats cut and fed green will produce the most 
milk of all green crops and will be the greatest 
profit to the cheese dairy. 



CLOVER. 

The value of this most nutritious food, is too 
well known to need any description here. It is 
one of the easiest crops with which to begin the 
practice of soiling. If cut just before blossoming, 
it will furnish three cuttings in a season. I have 
not used it much in soiling, except for horses and 
hogs. For them I know of nothing better except 
tares, or, perhaps, lucern (w^th the latter I have 
had no experience). The principal reason why 
clover is not more extensively used as a soiling 
crop is, that while it is verv valuable, there are 
other crops used instead which produce two, four 
or six times as much per acre, and yet are not so 
valuable tor hay. It is much cheaper to cut the 
feed for 12 or 14 cows from 5 or 6 rods (per day) 
than to cut it from 10, 20 or 30 rods. '* One acre 
of clover," says Mr. H. Lewis, '' will feed a dairy 
of 45 cows 15 days," and he adds that 3 acres fur- 
nishes his herd of 38 cows by soiling 5 weeks. As 
a green manure, doubtless it has no equal, except 



SOILING CROPS. 6^ 

perhaps in the cow pea. The action of its roots, 
which are very numerous, are both mechanical 
and chemical, loosening the soil and admitting the 
air, and the decaying roots furnish considerable 
plant food for the following crop. But one of its 
most valuable qualities is that, when allowed to 
grow for soiling crops or hay, it so shades the sur- 
face of the soil that it increa'ses its fertility rather 
than exhausting it, which would not be the case 
were the land used for pasture. Mr. E. W. Stew- 
art says, *' Desiring to know the feeding capacity 
of an acre of clover * * * i measured off 40 
square rods and began feeding it to seven cows 
and five horses. To my surprise, it fed them 15 
days, — equal to feeding one cow 180 days. The 
two succeeding years I tried the same experiment, 
feeding only cows, one of which proved equal to 
feeding one cow 170 days, the other 165 days. 



LUCERN. 

Where it has a favorable soil, lucern is, in some 
respects, superior to clover. They grow very 
much alike, except the lucern grows taller and is 
a more leafy plant. It lasts much longer than clo- 
ver, remaining in the soil ten to fifteen years with- 
out re-seeding. Those having soil to which it is 
adapted are loud in its praise as a forage plant. 
Says Mr. Flint ('* Grasses and Forage Plants," p. 
193), " But, notwithstanding the great amount of 
succulent and nutritious forage it produces, its ef- 
fect is to ameliorate and improve the soil rather 
than to exhaust it. * * When properly man- 
aged, the number of cattle which can be kept in 



68 SOILING. 

good condition on an acre of lucern during- the 
whole season exceeds belief. It is no sooner mown 
than it bushes out fresh shoots, and, wonderful as 
the growth of clover sometimes is in a field that 
has been lately mown, that of lucern is far more 
rapid. Lucern will last for many years, shooting 
its roots, tough and fibrous, downward for nourish- 
ment till it is out of the reach of drouth. In the 
dryestand most sultry weather, when every blade of 
grass droops for want of moisture, lucern holds up 
its stem, fresh and green as in the genial spring." 

The following is from Mr. John Bruce, from the 
" Ontario Experimental Farm," Hamilton, Ontario: 

'* We have had most marked success in growing 
lucern, in all kinds of weather (hard winters and 
dry summers) giving 20 tons per acre from four or 
five cuttings per season. — Broadcast seeding in a 
free deep soil, clean and in good heart ; 16 pounds 
per acre sown in spring, — plants last from 6 to 8 
years. Give a good top-dressing of well rotted 
barnyard manure every second year. — It is a good 
soiling crop ; in great favor with cattle and sheep, 
— is very fattening." 

From the late N. Bethel, Thorold : '' A portion 
of my first piece has been down ten years and the 
other part six years. I cut three tons of hay to 
the acre last week in June and allowed the second 
crop to stand for seed. I sold 39 bushels clean 
seed. This field has never had any kind of ma- 
nure since it was sown. The other field contains 
4/^ acres and this is the first year it has been cut. 
I got about 2% tons per acre, but it was a very dry 
season, and on hard clay soil. The second crop 
produced 25 bushels of seed. I used the cut hay 
unmixed with bran or other feed for lambing ewes 
and they gave more milk on it than any feed I 



SOILING CROPS. 69 

have used in my experience of 20 years ; it is also 
very good for milking cows, either as green fodder 
or hay. The seed can be saved from either the 
first or second crop. I consider it the best fodder 
crop I have ever seen, as it stands drouth better 
than anything I know. I cultivate the same as 
red clover." 



HUNGARIAN GRASS (MILLET). 

This is doubtless the most nutritious green for- 
age that is used in soiling cattle, as may be seen by 
reference to the foregoing tables. As a green ma- 
nure it also ranks first, containing 20 lbs. of nitro- 
gen and 17 lbs. of potash to the ton. It germinates 
and grows very rapidly and is said to enured 
drouth remarkably well, " remaining green even 
where other vegetation is parched, and if its devel- 
opment is arrested by dry weather, the least rain 
will restore it." It is a very leafy plant and fur- 
nishes the most succulent food, which is highly 
relished by all kinds of stock. It is said to flourish 
in Somewhat higher and dryer soil than other 
grasses, but attains its greatest luxuriance in soil 
of medium constancy and well manured. It is 
usually sown broadcast, requiring one bushel of 
seed per acre. 



COMMON MILLET. 

This is similar to Hungarian grass in regard to 
cultivation and growth. They are both annual 
grasses. Of millet, Mr. FHnt says : " It is one of 



70 SOILING. 

the best crops we have for cutting and feeding for 
soiling purposes, since its yield is large. Its luxu- 
riant leaves are much relished by milch cows and 
other stock. It requires good soil and is rather an 
exhaustive crop, but yields a product valuable in 
proportion to the richness of the soil." 



ROOTS. 71 

ROOTS. 

For late fall feeding, some kind of forage should 
be provided that will resist early frosts. As be- 
fore stated, barley or rye may be grown later with- 
out injury from frosts, than any other cereals 
except wheat, but, as in this latitude we sometimes 
have early falls of snow before winter fully sets in, 
which would beat down a crop of rye or barley, 
thus destroying its use as a food, it is best to be 
provided with some kind of a root crop, such as 
Beets, Cabbage, Kohl Rabi, &c., for milch cows, 
and Turnips for fattening animals and sheep. I 
speak in this way of Turnips, not because they are 
superior to any of the other roots, but because 
they cannot be fed to milch cows without injuring 
the flavor of the milk and butter. Of the turnip, 
I shall have somewhat to say, under the head of 
soiling crops for sheep. 



BEETS. 

As far as my experience extends in growing roots 
for milch cows and feeding them to obtain butter 
I have found the" Yellow Ovoid "variety superior 
to all others. They are easily cultivated and 
easily harvested, as the principal growth is above 
ground, as represented in the accompanying illus- 
tration. In regard to the method or culture, I 
need only say, that I have obtained the best results 
by top-dressing with stable manure after the beets 
were up, and following immediately with cultiva- 
tion, working the manure towards and on the rows. 
The seeding is done with a common field grain 



72 



SOILING. 




YELLOW OVOID. 



drill, in rows 24 inches apart, by closing all the 
drills except Nos. 2, 5 and 8. In estimating the 
amount, the drill may be operated upon the barn 
floor and so rigged as to drop the seed in any 
desired quantity. 



ROOTS. 



73 




TREE CABBAGE. 



CABBAGE. 

Besides the ordinary variety of field cabbage 
used for soiling, the *' Tree" cabbage, where it is 
known, is generally preferred, as its leaves may be 
picked off several times during the season, growing 
out again after each picking. Its cultivation in 
this country is very limited, but an English author 
speaks very highly of it as a soiling crop. Its cul- 
tivation is similar to cabbage, but it doubtless will 
require more labor to grow it than most American 
farmers are willing to devote, especially if there is 
any other forage that will answer the same pur- 
pose and require less cultivation. In this respect 
the Kohl Rabi 



74 



SOILING. 




KOHL RABI 



will be better received. This vegetable as yet is 
little known in this country. It comes very highly 
recommended from the German and English far- 
mers, and it is thought by some that it will soon 
be more extensively cultivated there than the tur- 
nip, that is to say, that it will supercede it as a 
vegetable. It partakes of the nature both of the 
cabbage and of the turnip. Its cultivation is simi- 
lar to that of the turnip. It is equally as produc- 
tive, and may be fed to milch cows, as it gives no 
unpleasant flavor to the milk as in the case of tur- 
nips. It is also said that it will endure very severe 
frosts. 



ROTATION. 75 

ROTATION OF SOILING CROPS. 



The rotation of soiling crops is very easily fol- 
lowed. The manner of conducting the system of 
growing- and feeding is shown by the following plan, 
which I have arranged in six steps of growth, one 
for each of the six months feeding, beginning about 
the ist of May, each growth or crop furnishing 
feed for one month : 

I St. — Winter rye sown in the fall, for the next 
May feeding. 

2d. — Barley, Oats, or Oats and Peas for the first 
spring sowing, (for June feeding). 

3d. — Corn fodder, millet, or Hungarian grass, 
(for July feeding). 

4th. — Corn fodder grown on the ground that was 
occupied by the winter rye, (for August feeding). 

5th. — Corn fodder grown on the ground that was 
occupied by the 2d crop, (for September feeding). 

6th. — Barley, rye, or cabbage roots (for fall feed- 
ing) grown on the ground that was occupied by 
the 3d crop, (for October feeding). 

If any of the prominent grasses (lucern, clover, 
&c.) are cultivated, they may take the place of the 
2d growth. The ground on which is grown the 
ist, 2d and 3d crops, if well manured after each 
cutting, or in a high state of fertility, will be all 
the land required for the season, except, perhaps, 
it may be found in a lower latitude that the 3d crop 
will be insufficient to carry the stock through until 
winter ; in which case, other land should be pro- 
vided. The 4th and 5th crops will be off in time to 
sow to winter rye for the next year's feeding. 



^6 SOILING. 

HOW TO BEGIN. 

In laying out the work, it is simply necessary to 
know how many head of stock (i,ooo pounds each) 
you desire to soil. On my own farm, I have adopt- 
ed the following estimate i. c. ; that a full grown cow 
will consume per day : 

Of lucern, clover, or other grasses, i square rod. 

Of rye, barley, oats and peas, H square rod. 

Of corn fodder, %. square rod. 

Land in a high state of cultivation will require 
less, poor land more. I would, however, advise a 
beginner to make a liberal allowance, especially in 
his first attempt, or until he has become acquainted 
with his soil and the system. There is no waste in 
having too much for immediate use, since it may 
be cut for winter feed, or, better yet, plowed under 
as a green manure. That the reader may fully 
understand my meaning, let us suppose that we 
wish to soil, during the coming season, 12 head of 
cows. We will begin with the proper spring work, 
supposing we have sown sufficient rye the previous 
fall to sustain our herd through the month of May 
(ist crop). 



SECOND (JUNE) CROPS. 

The plowing should be done as soon as the 
ground will permit. The land should first have a 
heavy dressing of manure, and, after plowing, it 
may be also top-dressed. All the land that may be 
required for the 2d and 3d crops (June and July 
feedings) may be plowed at once. 

As already described, the succeeding crops (Au- 



ROTATION. TJ 

gust, September and October) may be grown on 
the same ground as the first three. The next thing 
in order is to ascertain how much land will be 
required. At ^ square rod per day for each cow, 
we shall need for the second (June) crop (barley, 
oats and peas), 270 square rods ; to which we will 
add 10 square rods for waste, &c., making 280 
square rods. In plowing for both June and July 
crops, we plow, of course, double this area. The 
4th (August) crop will come, as before stated, on 
the ground now occupied by the first crop (winter 
rye). 

Now that the ground is all plowed, the man who 
has charge of the cutting and feeding proceeds as 
follows : every Saturday afternoon, with two horses 
he fits the ground, and with the grain drill, sows, 
only the amount of ground necessary to keep the 
12 head one week. This makes four sowings, of 70 
square rods each, for each month's crops, and thus 
each sowing in rotation comes to maturity one 
week later than the previous one. One week is 
about as long as most forage crops are at a proper 
stage to cut. If, for instance, two or three week's 
feeding is sown at a .time, the soiler must begin 
cutting before it has reached its best state (/. e., in 
blossom), or else it will not all be consumed until 
some of it has passed its most succulent state and 
become so tough as to be rejected by the stock, 
the soiler may thus be disappointed and led to con- 
demn the system. For the lack of knowing this, I 
have no doubt that more than one faint hearted 
man has been discouraged in attempting to soil his 
stock. 

It has been my practice to sow barley for the 
first week's sowing and to follow it with three 
weekly sowings of oats and peas. This constitutes 



78 SOILIJ^G. 

the second month's crop. The rye will last until 
about the ist of June when the first cutting of bar- 
ley will be ready, after which, each week's sowing 
follows in succession. The sowing must therefore 
be continued every week until each month's crop 
is provided, and will require, for 12 head, about 
two or three hours of one day in each week. 



THIRD (JULY) CROP. 

If the grasses are used, provide at least i square 
rod per day for each head ; if corn fodder, M square 
rod. Say we use the latter, and that we use 200 
square rods for the whole month's crop. Four 
sowings would therefore require the fitting and 
seed for 50 square rods each week. For reasons 
already given, the seed should be put in with drills 
and cultivated. The seeding may be done with a 
common grain drill. With a nine-tooth drill, let 
the cups of teeth Nos. i and 3 discharge into No. 2; 
4 and 6, into 5 ; and 7 and 9, into 8. This will make 
the rows 24 inches apart, the wheel tracks serving 
as a guide on return bouts. 



FOURTH (august) CROP. 

This crop is usually corn fodder, which thrives 
well in hot weather. It may follow on the land 
lately cleared of the winter rye, after manuring ; 
but, if the land is not in condition, it must be 
grown elsewhere. 



ROTATION. 79 

FIFTH (SEPTEMBER) CROP. 

This follows on the land where we sowed barley 
and oats for the June feeding. 



SIXTH (OCTOBER) CROP. 

This should consist largely of barley or rye, or 
both, sown, in the manner above described, where 
we had the third (July) crop. 

Cabbage and roots for November should have 
been sown early, on ground especially fitted for 
them. But many farmers allow their cows to run 
out during the latter part of the season (November) 
on corn stubble or such land as they have suitable 
for such uses. In September, there should be the 
usual number of sowings of rye for the first month's 
feeding in the following spring, which should be 
top-dressed during the winter, when the ground is 
frozen, with fine stable manure. 

This completes the season. It seems as if I had 
used a great many words in describing the rota- 
tion of the crops and the manner of growing them. 
If I am at fault in this respect, I hope the reader 
will attribute it to my desire to be clearly under- 
stood. 

In this connection, I add the following extracts 
from a letter from Mr. Charles W. Wolcott : 

Blue Hill Farm, Canton, Mass., June nth, 1881. 
F. S. Peer, Esq., 

Dear Sir : — I have yours of the 4th, and note 
the inquiries. Our practice has been to feed on 
wmter rye first then oats, — next, spring rye, — 
next, millet (the golden) grown on the winter rye 



8o SOILING. 

land. Sweet fodder corn (Stowell's evergreen) 
grown on oat land, southern white fodder corn 
sown in drills on oat land and spring rye land, and 
lastly, barley grown on the land formerly occupied 
by winter rye and lastly by golden millet. This 
gives a good rotation for feeding, and with us al- 
ways has worked well. * * ■x- * Respecting 
the value of manure saved by soiling, my judgment 
is that all that is viadc is saved, for I do not believe 
that the manure dropped in pasture enriches the 
soil at all, it being mostly dried up into an almost 
insoluble cake. 

The care ot my stock (now 48 head of milch cows) 
devolves on one man who feeds, cleans and waters 
them in the barn — two men help him milk. One 
man and one horse draw the green fodder in less 
than half a day. We feed three times a day in the 
stanchions, where the cows stay except when they 
are turned out in the yard once a week for an hour 
if it is cool, but never if it is very hot. They much 
prefer the barn to the yard. Their health is al- 
ways good and they are thrifty. The quality of 
milk is about the same with me the year round. 
The quantity is larger with me in the soiling sea- 
son than my neighbors average. 

To conclude, I will say that I cannot see that I 
can afford to pasture my stock, as I haven't made 
enough money yet to be ready to throw it away. 

Yours, Respectfully, 

CHAS. W. WOLCOTT. 



CUTTING AND FEEDING. 8 1 

CUTTING AND FEEDING. 

CUTTING. 

Where the farmer has but a few head to soil, a 
large wheelbarrow, scythe, cradle, rake, fork and 
corn cutter will constitute the necessary outfit to 
conduct the system, so far as cutting and feeding 
are concerned. My own experience in soiling 12 
to 14 head of milch cows and 4 horses may be 
briefly stated as follows : The cutting is all done 
with a stoutly built self-rake reaper. We began 
by using a scythe. The second year we cut with a 
mowing machine, but this had some disadvantages 
over the scythe, for the crop had to be raked to- 
gether either by hand or by horse rake. I tried 
the latter, but it was not stout enough to rake the 
heavy green fodder in any better shape than it was 
left by the scythe. It required considerable hand 
raking, either way. This I found to be the great- 
est objection to the whole system. Not that it re- 
quired so much time, but that to go back to gath- 
ering crops with hand rake and fork, after a few 
years with mowing machines and hay rakes, didn't 
seem like progressing. W^e used the scythe until 
the new reaper (D. M. Osborne's No. 3, manu- 
factured at Auburn, N. Y.) made its appearance 
on the farm, taking the place of scythe, mowing 
machine, hand rake and horse rake ; in fact, for 
ease and economy of labor, this machine proved to 
be just the thing. Monday morning, for instance, 
the farm team is attached and cuts, in twenty or 
thirty minutes, enough feed to supply my entire 
stock for two or three days, leaving it in the very 
6 



82 



SOILING. 



best possible shape to gather, where it may wilt 
without drying out, and the least exposed to sun 
and weather. I cannot recommend too highly or 
encourage too strongly this mode of cutting over 
every other. This is the third season that I have 
used this machine, cutting very heavy crops of 
oats and peas, and last season, besides all our soil- 
ing crops, ^Vz acres of Western Dent corn, 7 to 9 
feet tall, and producing 30 tons of ensilage fodder 
per acre. Of this subject, I shall have somewhat 
to say under " Winter Soihng." The only break 
that has ever happened to the reaper while cuttmg 
green feed was a casting on the "grain wheel" 
outside of the table. I speak of this because, at 
first, one might be timid about using a reaper for 
such work. 



DRAWING. 



A one-horse lumber wagon with wide tire (2>^ 
inch) and low wheels (half truck) will be found of 
great service for drawing in the green fodder, 
drawing out manure on plowed ground for top- 
dressing, and drawing out muck, &c. It should 
have a double box, the upper part projecting on a 
bevel so as to cover the wheels as here represented. 




CUTTING AND FEEDING. 83 

FEEDING. 

There are two methods of feeding stock under 
the soiling system, viz : By allowing the stock to 
run in a small enclosure or barnyard, where they 
may be fed in racks ; and by feeding them in their 
stalls, allowing them such exercise as the owner 
may deem necessary to promote and maintain 
their health. 

The latter method has many advantages over 
the former, some of which have been mentioned 
under the head of Advantages, i. e. ; the saving of 
feed and manure, and the greater comfort of the 
stock. Lastly, but not least, may be mentioned 
the advantage of having the cows in their stalls at 
milking time, instead of being scattered about the 
yard, driving each other about, which is very an- 
noying and often results in a clubbing of the cow 
and the loss of a pail of milk. 



CAUTION IN FEEDING. 

There is much more danger of a beginner's 
feeding too much than not enough. A cow, with 
more fodder placed before her than she can eat up 
clean, breathes upon it and then will go hungry 
before she will eat it. This, of course, causes 
shrinkage in milk and flesh, and I have no doubt 
that for this reason the soiling system has been 
condemned by some, who supposed that a cow 
could not be hungry with a whole rack full of feed 
before her which she refused to touch. 



84 SOILING. 

MANNER OF FEEDING. 

Experience has taught me that, to produce the 
best results from milch cows, they should be fed 
four or five times a day, and each time only the 
amount which they will consume before the next 
feeding. Mr. Quincy recommends six feedings; 
but five, in my experience, have g'iven equally 
good results and are more convenient. To think 
of feeding five times a day may seem like a great 
task, but, by systematizing the work, it will be 
found not nearly as bad as one may imagine. . 

Let us begin in the morning and go through the 
entire day's work of soiling 14 head of cows, feed- 
ing them five times, twice in the morning, once at 
noon, and twice at night, as follows ; at 5 and 8 
o'clock A. M., 12 M., and at 4 and 7 P. M. We have 
enough feed brought in the night before to supply 
us with the first, or 5 o'clock, feeding, which is, at 
time of feeding, placed in the mangers and the 
cows let in from the yard where they have spent 
the night. The farm team is then cared for. By 
this time breakfast is ready, after which (6 o'clock) 
milking begins. In the meantime, the calves and 
pigs are attended to, the farm team has been at- 
tached to the reaper, and, having cut sufficient 
fodder for two or three day's feeding, has gone 
to the regular field work. After the feeding of 
the calves and pigs just referred to, the man, with 
the wagon, draws from the field, in one load, feed 
for the 8 o'clock, noon, and 4 o'clock feedings, 

After all other chores are done, which takes him 
till about half-past seven, the cows are given their 
8 o'clock feeding, and the man is at liberty until 
noon. Just before going to dinner he gives the 
cows their noon feeding, which takes him about 



CUTTING AND FEEDING. 85 

five minutes. After dinner he is at liberty until 
half-past four when the cows are ag-ain fed (what 
we call the four o'clock feeding). Supper at five, 
after which another load of fodder is drawn from 
the field, sufficient for the 7 o'clock feeding and the 
5 o'clock morning feeding. At 6 o'clock the cows 
are milked, and the calves and pigs fed, which 
brings us to the 7 o'clock feeding. This is quickly 
done, and ends the day with the exception of turn- 
ing out the cows at 8 o'clock. During the time 
we have given to feeding the 14 cows, 4 horses 
and 2 colts have been provided with feed. 

In relating, as I have, my own experience in 
conducting the soiling system, I am well aware 
that it establishes no rule. It might not suit an- 
other's case in every respect. I hope, however, 
that it will give my readers a correct knowledge 
of the general principles of soiling, so that those 
who wish to adopt it may have at least a guide, if 
not an absolute rule. 



86 



SOILING. 



SOILING CATTLE. 



In the construction of cow stables, there are two 
points which should be well understood, and the 
first one of these is the necessity of good and per- 
fect ventilation. This is very easily secured and 
should in no wise be neglected, especially if stock 
are to be stall-fed. Either in summer or in winter, 
pure air is indispensable to health. A stable con- 
structed so as to be warm in winter, will be cool 
in summer. The following diagram illustrates 
the principle of ventilation : 




As the warmer and impure air from the breath- 
ing cows and the odors of the stable rise to the 
ceiling of the basement stable B, it finds an easy 
exit upward and through the roof oi the building 
by the air duct represented. At the same time, 
the circuit is completed by the introduction of 
cooler and purer air from the fioor of the upper 



SOILING CATTLE. 



87 



apartment, A A, through the conduits represented, 
to the floor of the basement stables. 

The second item of importance is the saving of 
hquid manure, the value of which has been already 
discussed. Figure 2 gives a sectional view of a 
double row of stalls facing each other, in a base- 
ment 30 feet wide. 



P D 



•■••la in 



«^ 



JV 



Vft. 61N. 



2,ft.18in. '-^Ft. 



ISiN.Zft. ^FT.SlN. 



Wm. Sft. 



The space in the center, marked P, is the alley 
through which the feed is carried and deposited in 
the mangers MM. F F are the floors on which 
the cows stand. The drops (D D) behind the cows 
are made water tight and may be partly filled with 
absorbents. The spaces P P, at the extreme ends 
of the diagram are passage ways behind the cows. 

I prefer a deep drop behind the cows, to a shal- 
low wide one, for these reasons. It takes up less 
room ; a cow can more easily step across and is 
less liable to slip in passing ; it is more easily 
cleaned out, being but the width of a large scoop 
shovel ; and, being deeper, the manure drops be- 
low the surface of the floor on which the cows 
stand, and, if cleaned out daily, there will not 
enough accumulate to touch the body of the cow 
when she lies down. I have had a solid white cow 
in my stable, summer and winter, for the last three 
years, and I never remember seeing a manure stain 
on her flank, legs or udder. The same is true of 
all the cows. I use fine shavings for bedding and 
as an absorbent. The cows work enough back in- 
to the drop or trench with their feet fo absorb the 



88 



SOILING. 



urine. When straw is used for bedding, a little 
dry muck, sand, cobs, etc., should be sprinkled in 
the bottom of the trench, as straw itself is not a 
very good absorbent. If cut cornstalks are fed, 
the butts left by the cows may be thrown under 
them ; they make a good absorbent, but should, of 
course, be cut. Muck and sand are, perhaps, the 
best absorbents, on account of being of greater 
value before being used than the others I have 
named ; but, where it is the practice to furnish 
cows with beddmg, something that will answer for 
both bedding and absorbent will doubtless be the 
most desirable. 



FASTENINGS. 







SOILING CATTLE. 89 

There are many styles of cattle fastenings, the 
ones in most general use, being ropes, chains, and 
stanchions. These are too well known to need 
description. The foregoing illustrates the latest 
improved method of fastening by stanchions. 

For some reasons stanchions are the best meth- 
od of fastening. The objections generally made to 
them are that the animal has not sufficient liberty 
with her head. The accompanying illustration 
shows how this objection is obviated. This style 
of stanchion is manufactured and sold by the 
patentees, M. H. Barnard & Co., Forestville, Conn. 



90 SOILING. 



SOILING HORSES. 

My own experience being limited to the soiling 
of the farm team only, and not extending to the 
soiling of breeding mares, I quote in full the follow- 
ing article on the subject from the pen of a well- 
known author and practical farmer, as it appeared 
in the Live Stock yo2irnal : 

*' This class of stock is thought by many to be 
quite unadapted to the soiling system, especially 
colts, as they require exercise to develop the mus- 
cular power, and soiling is thought to require too 
close confinement. This arises from a misconcep- 
tion of the flexibility of this system. Soiling does 
not necessarily require the confinement of animals 
any more than pasturing. It is true that pasturing 
furnishes larger fields to range in ; but nearly every 
farm can devote a lane running to the wood lot as 
space to exercise in. This lane is necessary for 
the convenience of the farm, and generally fur- 
nishes a road to the different parts of the tillable 
land and meadow. This will furnish the colts 
abundant room to make trials of speed, and afford 
all the exercise required to develop muscle. This 
run-way is easily fenced so substantially as wholly 
to prevent the colts from jumping, and thus be- 
coming troublesome. I have raised a dozen colts 
in this way, and found them to develop in every 
respect as well as those pastured. That colts may 
be as little confined as possible, racks may be ar- 
ranged under a shed, into which the soiling food 
may be placed, and the colts have access to it at all 
times. We found this plan to work well with 
brood mares and their foals. Having the food of 
the mares wholly under control, their production 



SOILING HORESS. 9I 

of milk will be more uniform, and the growth of 
the foals much better, than on pasture. The dam 
requires full feeding upon appropriate food, and 
this may always be given in soiling, as any defect 
in the succulence and nutrition of the grasses or 
other soiling food may be supplemented with mid- 
dlings, oil-meal and oats. The foals are also con- 
stantly under the eye of the feeder, easily become 
accustomed to handling, and may be taught to take 
other food at a younger age. Early familiarity 
with the attendant and docility are not only favor- 
able to the foal's progress in development, but to 
its easy management at the training age. The 
vigorous, steady, and healthy growth of colts is 
most essential to their future value as serviceable 
animals, and, therefore to the profit of the breeder. 
Soiling offers the most complete control over the 
food and management of colts; and, therefore, un- 
der this system they may be grown with much 
more uniform success, and, on land worth^fifty or 
more dollars per acre, much cheaper than by pas- 
turing. As I have shown in other articles, the 
foal responds more quickly to the use of cow's 
milk than any other food after weaning, and this 
may be skimmed milk, after teaching it first to 
drink new milk. The colt being under attention in 
soiling, this extra food may be given with very 
little labor. From considerable experience, I con- 
sider the soiling system as well adapted to the 
raising of horses in all stages, from the suckling 
colt to the mature horse." 



92 SOILING. 

SOILING SHEEP. 

The advantages of soiling sheep in this country 
are becoming more apparent every year. '' The 
flesh and wool of sheep," says Mr. Stewart, " are 
but the products of the soil, and contain nothing 
but what has existed in the plants which the sheep 
have consumed." No farmer who has ever bred 
sheep for mutton needs to be told the necessity of 
supplying an abundance of succulent food for his 
lambs until they have reached maturity. A lamb 
that has been stinted by want of proper nourish- 
ment or from sickness can never be fattened as 
profitably as one whose growth has never been 
checked. The English farmers not only know this, 
but take every precaution to prevent it, and to 
this it is mainly due that they are enabled to ex- 
port to this country, yearly, many thousand dol- 
lars worth'of sheep, while American farmers might 
breed as good at home, if they would. For many 
years we sent to them for stock animals to improve 
our herds, until Americans learned the art of feed- 
ing, and now we are breeding cattle as fine as 
theirs, and, during the last few years, have sent 
some valuable sires to England. 

But, in regard to sheep, we have yet much to 
learn. I mean we have to put into practice what 
we already know, but, for some reason, fail to ap- 
preciate its importance. There is not a farmer in 
America who will not say that " it costs no more 
to keep a good sheep than a poor one " ; but not 
one in a hundred puts the statement to proof by 
practice. The English farmer makes no secret of 
how he produces a flock ot sheep that average 200 
lbs. each, and from 12 to 20 lbs. of beautiful wool. 



SOILING SHEEP. 93 

It is all explained in one word, — feed. Not grain 
so much as a never-ceasing supply of rich, nutritiotis 
forage which keeps their stock growing constantly, 
throughout the entire year. To accomplish this, 
they have adopted a regular system of soiling, 
there known as folding or hurdling. 

I am told by an importer of English stock that, 
as a general thing, the English feed less grain than 
we do. Again, it is very important to the wool 
grower that his flock should have an abundance of 
food throughout the entire^ year. Whenever the 
pastures fail, the growth of wool is checked, and, 
if the sheep be afterwards well fed, there will be 
found at shearing time a weak place in the wool 
corresponding to the time in its growth when the 
feed was insufi&cient. Wool, like milk from our 
cows, is produced in proportion to the amount of 
food consumed above that required to support life. 
Therefore, the want of a proper amount of food is 
first noticed in the wool, and here is where many 
farmers are deceived. Their sheep look to be in 
passable condition and they are satisfied ; but the 
sheep are not growing a profitable amount of wool, 
as they would if supplied with all they could eat. 
Says Mr. Miles, ** The great development in fatten- 
ing quality and early maturity ^ -^ -^^ * has 
been secured by a liberal supply of nutritious food 
during the period of growth." 

Mr. Youatt, an English author, says : '* It is of 
the uUnost iinportanee that the ewes should have 
abundant food in order to produce a flow of nu- 
tritious milk while they are suckling, and that the 
lambs should have plenty of good pasture or other 
succulent green food when they are weaned." 

Speaking of the Lincoln .breed of sheep, Mr. 
Stewart says, *' In connection with a system of 



94 SOILING. 

farming in which heavy crops of roots and green 
fodder were the chief production, this improved 
breed became fixed in its character as the heaviest 
producers of mutton and wool in the world." 

During the early part of the season, when vege- 
tation is putting forth vigorously, they do very 
well in pasture, but, by the time they have over- 
come the effects of winter, the pasture begins to 
fail, — just when the lambs are requiring the great- 
est amount of milk. Then it is that the dams 
should have better feed than at any other time in 
in the year. There is no other time when extra 
food is so much needed. The system of the dam 
herself must be kept up, a large lamb, often two, 
derive sustenance through her, and the farmer also 
expects her, at the same time, to be growing wool. 
If she is ill provided with the best of food to pro- 
duce milk, wool and flesh, the wool is first affected, 
then her off-spring — reaching maturity late, some- 
times never ; her own body becomes a ready prey 
to disease, and she goes into winter quarters poor. 
A few years of such a life hangs her hide upon the 
fence and gives her carcass to the crows. 

There are many farmers keeping sheep who 
have no interest in their improvement for the rea- 
son that every two or three yeare the rotation of 
the fields shortens the supply of pasture and the 
flock goes to the butcher. They pic k up a few culls 
after a year and begin another flock which in turn 
follows the course of the first. The farmer has no 
object in selecting a good sire as a means of im- 
proving, because he doesn't know but what he will 
have to dispose of his flock another year, if he 
should be likely to loose a feeding or be short of 
pasture. 

There is probably no source of easier profit on 



SOILING SHEEP. 95 

the farm than a flock of well cared for sheep. Ma- 
nure made from them is richer in nitrogen and 
potash than that from any other animal, — not ex- 
cepting the hog and the hen. Their wool and 
lambs are in the market just when the farmer has 
the least to sell, they require little care compared 
with cows and horses, and increase more rapidly. 
In fact, to deprive a farm of a flock oi good sheep is 
to rob it of one of its most pleasing and profitable 
attractions. There is a way in which they may be 
supplied with food, rich and succulent, when they 
most require it, a way in which the lambs may be 
made to grow continually from birth and be early 
brought to full maturity, a way in which the 
farmer can produce the greatest amount of wool 
superior in quality, manure unequaled in value, 
and make himself the sole possessor of a beautiful 
flock of sheep, — and that is by soiling. 



96 SOILING. 

SOILING CROPS FOR SHEEP. 



In selecting crops for sheep, we must remember 
that the forage should be finer than for cattle or 
horses. The most prominent are tares (vetches), 
rape, turnips, lucern and clover (early cut), oats 
and peas, and some of the small varieties of corn 
fodder. 



TARES. 

Spring and winter tares are largely sown in 
England for soiling sheep, cattle and horses. All 
stock are exceedingly fond of them. My experi- 
ence in feeding them is very satisfactory. I have 
never undertaken to cultivate the winter variety. 
Spring tares are usually sown in March or April. 
They are very much like the common field pea, ex- 
cept that the stalks and leaves are finer, — a very 
vigorously growing plant, highly relished by sheep 
and lambs. The blossom and pod are similar to those 
of the pea. A small quantity of oats, barley or rye 
should be sown with them as a support, otherwise 
they are apt to lodge, after the manner of peas, 
which materially lessens their value. They may 
be sown with a grain drill or broadcast. 

An English writer says, " Sheep may be fattened 
upon them, the milk ot cows is enriched and in- 
creased by them, and they are extensively em- 
ployed in feeding horses. They do not require a 
rich soil." 



SOILING CROPS FOR SHEEP. 



97 



RAPE. 



Rape looks and tastes like turnip tops, but has 
roots similar to those of grain and grasses ; it is, 
however, of much finer growth. The seeds look 
like those of the turnip. It grows from lo to 15 
inches high. Although it does not produce as 
much food to the acre, it is the most nutritious for- 
age plant and is equaled by no other vegetable, as 
may be seen by the foregoing tables. Its culture 
is similar to that of the turnip and will sustain 
about the same number of animals per acre, and 
may be sown later in the season. It is said to '' re- 
quire rich ground where cultivated for seed, but 
large quantities are grown with advantage, for feed 
only, on very poor land." As a food for young 
lambs, it has no superior. A small patch may be 
grown in one corner of the pasture, or adjoining it 
or the place where the ewes are confined, with a 
lamb creep, — a hole in the fence large enough to 
admit the lambs and exclude the sheep, with a 
roller at the top and sides to 'prevent tearing the 
wool, as shown in the following illustration. 



98 SOILING. 

The lambs will soon learn to run in and feed, 
as they are exceedingly fond of the plant. It re- 
quires about two pecks of seed per acre, which 
should be sown in July for fall feeding. If in- 
tended to be fed to grown sheep, it should be cut 
and fed to them in racks ; otherwise, they destroy 
much of it. Lambs may be allowed to pasture up- 
on it, as they are light in weight, and, if unaccom- 
panied by their dams, only stay in the enclosure 
while feeding. The high feeding value of this 
plant strongly recommends it to farmers raising 
early market lambs. In this case it should be sown 
earlier. 



TURNIPS. 

The turnip in England has become a regular 
rotation crop, and takes the place of corn in this 
country, /. t'. ; ist, turnips, 2d, barley, 3d, wheat, 
4th, grass or pasture. The varieties most used for 
feeding stock are the White Norfolk, Yellow 
Aberdeen, Swedish, and Dale's Hybrid, *' which 
latter is a hardy, succulent vegetable, much relish- 
ed by stock, and in no respect injured by the se- 
verest winter." It is sometimes sown broadcast, 
but is found to pay better when sown in drills and 
cultivated. Mr. Youatt says, " There is no vege- 
table within the range of agricultural produce 
that yields so valuable a portion of nutritious food 
as the Swedish turnip." Turnips may be sown 
from the last of May till the second week in July. 

These are the principal soiling crops for sheep, 
in connection with the other forage crops which 
have been considered under the general head fo 



SOILING CROPS FOR SHEEP. 



99 




WHITE NOB POLK. 



soiling" crops, especially "Kohl Rabi" and "Tree 



Cabbage," 



lOO SOILING. 

MANNER OF SOILING SHEEP. 

We will consider briefly the methods adopted 
for feeding sheep by the soiling system. If moved 
about from field to field by the rotation of crops, 
they may be suppHed with any of the soihng crops 
just mentioned, by fencing off a portion of the 
field in which they are pastured and devotmg that 
portion to the growth of soiling crops ; or a small 
portion of an adjoining field may be used for that 
purpose. In either case, the several crops should 
be sown or planted in four rows parallel with the 
division fence, the crop for the first feadmg being 
nearest the fence. A movable rack, just m the 
pasture, will serve, to hold the feed as it is cut. 

Each row is intended to supply food for one 
month, beginning about the first of July on the 
first row, cutting with scythe or cradle and throw- 
ins; the cutting over the fence into the rack, which 
may be moved along the Hne of the fence as the 
cutting progresses. By the time the first row is 
consumed, the second should be ready for cutting 
which may be done in a direction opposite that of 
the first, following back with the rack. The first 
crop next to the dividing' fence may be oats and 
peas ; the second, a small variety of sweet corn ; 
third, the same, or tares ; fourth, tares. After the 
first and second rows have been cut, the ground 
which was occupied by them may be top-dressed 
and cultivated in, or plowed shallow, and sown to 

turnips. ^ . 

In estimating the amount of ground necessary 
to supply a flock with forage, we apply the same 
rule as given for calculating the amount required 
to supply looo lbs. (or a full grown cow). Thus, 



MANNER OF SOILING SHEEP. lOI 

sheep averaging lOO lbs., would require, each, one- 
tenth of that necessary for a cow, or, of oats and 
peas, one-tenth of H square rod per day. This es- 
timate for sheep in the plan of feeding above de- 
scribed may be reduced to at least Vz square rod 
per day for every looolbs., as the sheep will obtain 
part of their feed from the pasture ; but this part 
will, of course, depend upon the size of the pasture 
and the fertility of its soil. My own experience by 
soiling in this manner, was in an old orchard con- 
taining 5 acres, one of which was fenced off as 
above described. With this four acres of pasture, 
• and one devoted to soiling crops, I have kept 24 
head of large, long-wooled sheep, and 22 lambs, 
(fully equal to 5 head of 1000 lbs. each) during the 
season. This leads me to say that, as a rule, tor 
every 1000 lbs., it will require one acre of land, 
one-fifth of which should be devoted to soiling 
crops. I feel safe in saying that the fi\e acres, 
with one devoted to soiling crops, were equal to 
ten pastured, or, that one acre soiled is equal to 
five pastured. The variety of the feed and the 
shade made the sheep contented, and, better still, 
they had all they could or would eat. 

The following comparison of the amount of wool 
taken from the same sheep after a year of pasturing 
and after a year of soiling, shows the effect of their 
having an abundance of food during the entire sea- 
son, that there may be no check in the growth of 
the wool : 

1878, 30 head pastured, sheared in 1879, 280 lbs. 

1879, 28 '' soiled, '' '' 1880, 330 '' 

1880, 37 ;' ;' " ^ '' 1881, 550 " 
Those clipped in 1880 were wintered on ensilage 

and bean straw, as I had no hay. In every other 
respect they were cared for as in the years previous. 



102 SOILING. 

I do not attribute the increase entirely to soil- 
ing. When fed in the orchard referred to, the 
sheep were protected by its shade from the heat of 
the sun, and such protection has, in my opinion, 
far more to do with the results of feeding than 
most people are inclined to admit. The lamb 
creep should also come in for no small share of 
credit. My lambs, during the years '80 and '81, 
weaned and weighed July ist, have averaged 91 
lbs., at an average age of 4 months, many of the 
single lambs w.eighing as many pounds as they 
were days old ; a large majority, however, being 
twin lambs, reduced the average. And, lastly, but 
not least, the difference should, in some degree, be 
attributed to improvement of the stock by sires 
superior in the quality and quantity of their wool. 
Nevertheless, I believe, that to the influence of food 
(forage) should be credited far the largest part of 
the result. 



FEEDING. 

The feeding racks are filled three times a day, 
morning, noon and night, and this may be done 
by a boy. No more should be fed at a time than 
the sheep will eat, and, should there be any left in 
the racks, it should be removed before fresh feed 
is added. The shepherd will soon learn the wants 
of his fiock. Another method of feeding is that of 
folding the sheep upon the soiling crops instead of 
cutting them. Formerly (in England) this was the 
custom, but lately they have more generally 
adopted the practice of cutting and feeding in 
racks. 



MANNER OF SOILING SHEEP. 



103 



The best plan of feeding by portable hurdles, is 
illustrated as follows : 




These are made by driving sticks 6 or 7 feet long 
through a piece of wood 4 inches square and 12 
feet long, so that each row will be at right angles 
to the other and the sticks 7 or 8 inches apart, so 
as to admit the head and neck of the sheep only. 

These racks may be rolled over and over across 
the field. The sheep are thus provided with fresh 
food daily, without trampling it down. The inclo- 
sure must necessarily change with the movement of 
of the hurdles, and, therefore, a few panels of port- 
able fence, light and durable are indispensable. 

A fence made of cocoanut or hempen cord is 
often used, which is made in various lengths. 
Stakes are driven into the ground, on which are 
hooks for the support of the netting. The netting 
costs (in England) $9.00 per hundred yards. Mr. 



I04 SOILING. 

Stewart says of it, '' At this price, it could be irn- 
ported with profit, and probably cheaper than it 
could be manufactured here." 

The following is an extract from a letter lately 
received from Mr. Charles Barton, Fyfield, Eng- 
land, January i8th, 1882 ; "I use two kinds of port- 
able fencing, one made of boards, in length 7 feet. 
The other is a galvanized wire netting, and is made 
in fifty-yard lengths, which one man can roll up 
and handle with ease. The cost varies from six 
pence to ten pence per yard. This I find very 
handy for summer folding. I keep from 1,200 to 
1,400 sheep. -^ ^ * The feeding sheep have 
their roots cut for them and put in troughs with 
hay and a portion of cake and corn, yi to i pound 
per head, per day, until fit for the butcher. The 
ewes with lambs are folded in the amount that we 
think will be sufficient for them lor a day, and 
their lambs allowed to run forward through the 
hurdles which are wide enough to let the lambs 
through, but not the ewes. This is followed until 
vetches (tares), rape and turnips are fit." 

Mr. Barton is a noted breeder of Cotswold sheep 
and exports yearly some of the finest specimens of 
that breed coming to Canada and the United 
States. The following figure represents a steel 
wire netting which may be used as a portable fence 
as above described. 





MANNER OF SOILING SHEEP. I05 

• 

It is furnished either painted or galvanized, in 
any desired length, for from $1.00 to $2.00 per rod, 
according to the width, which varies from 3 to 6 
feet. It is manufactured and sold by Sedgwick 
Bros., Richmond, Ind. The illustration represents 
the meshes of the netting. They are made in two 
sizes, 4 by 7 inches and 5 by 8 inches. 

Another method of feeding is practiced to some 
extent in this country, where the farmer is' so for- 
tunate as to have a permanent pasture on that por- 
tion of his farm best adapted to sheep, the size of 
the field depending on the number of sheep, allow- 
ing one acre for every 1000 lbs. A permanent 
pasture is an excellent feature on any farm. One 
acre, generally speaking, is worth two or three of 
newly seeded, by having a field, properly located, 
seeded with a large variety of grasses, some com- 
ing early to maturity, some late, some that thrive 
best in hot weather, others that do well when 
cooler, some that grow thickly, to make a heavy 
sward, and others that send their roots far down 
beyond the effect of drouth. The following vari- 
eties are none too many to make a good pasture. 
The proportion given is that for one acre. 

Sweet-scented Vernal, flowering in April and May, - 4 

Orchard grass, " " " " " _ _ 5 

Sheep's Fescue, " " May and June, - 3 

Kentucky Blue Grass, " " '•"•'__ 4 

Italian Rye Grass, " " June, - - - - 4 

Red Top, " '* June and July, - - 4 

Timothy, " " <•«'<« _ _ ^ 

English Rye Grass, " " July, _ _ _ 5 

White Clover, " from May to September, 5 

40 



io6 



SOILING. 



These varieties, flowering' as they do, at differ- 
ent times during the season, make them very desira- 
ble, besides they are all highly relished by sheep. 
The seed for an acre will cost from $6.00 to $8.00, 
which is a trifle more than tmiothy and clover, and 
when a pasture of this kind is once established, it 
becomes very valuable, repaying many times the 
extra cost of the seed. All of the above varieties 
may be obtained of Messrs. John Bruce & Co., of 
Hamilton, Ont., a reliable house. 

With such a permanent pasture, the method of 
growing and feeding the crops above referred to 
may be illustrated as ^follows ; 



1 

i 

1 
1 








^ 














P 


A 


^^ 






1 






L 





F, L, and R comprise the permanent pasture ; 
A is the feeding shed. The dotted lines at the left 
show where the soiling crops are grown. R and 
L are enclosures by which the rams and lambs 
may be respectively separated from the rest of the 
flock and confined by portable fences within the 
pasture, so that they can yet be fed on green fod- 
der in the shed. 



MANNER OF SOILING SHEEP. 10/ 

The following" shows the elevation of the shed : 




It stands on the ground devoted to soiling crops. 
The front opens to the pasture with the other 
three sides within the enclosure devoted to soiling 
crops, so that the shepherd or soiler may drive on 
the three sides of the building, putting the feed 
through into the racks from the wagon without 
disturbing the sheep by going or driving among 
them. There are no gates to open and shut, nor 
sheep in the way to bother about feeding. 

I have been experimenting by feeding in a small 
shed of rough boards during the past season, in- 
stead of the movable rack first mentioned, and am 
so well pleased with it that 1 propose to enlarge it 
during: the comins^ season. 1 like it better because 
the sheep like it better. They remam mside the 
greater part of the day and eat considerably more 
than if in the field, where they lie under the fence 
most of the time, enriching ground that cannot be 
cultivated. 

This plan requires no more labor on the part of 
the soiler than when the sheep are fed with the 
movable racks, and I find that less food is wasted; 
The value of the manure thus made is also in its 
favor. There may be a small pen with a lamb 



io8 



SOILING. 



creep, where they may help themselves to bran or 
ground oats as soon as weaned. They may be fed 
separately on tares, rape, cabbage or turnips, and 
the rams and ewes fed on coarse feed. In fact the 
shepherd has perfect control over the feeding and 
can mete it out as his judgment dictates. 

Where a rotation ol crops is considered prefera- 
ble, the building or shed may be situated at the 
adjoining corners of four fields, as follows : 




To illustrate : the first year i and 2 may be pas- 
tured, 3 devoted to soihng crops, and seeded, and 
4 for roots. The second year, pasture 2 and 3, de- 
vote 4 to soiling crops and seed, and use i for 
roots, and so on around. This plan would doubt- 
less require more land than the other. The choice 
should depend on the nature and condition of the 



MANNER OF SOILING SHEEP. IO9 

soil. I have never tried this plan, and so do not 
speak from experience. I must not neg-lect to say 
that the sheep should be supphed with fresh water 
daily. The idea that a sheep does not require 
water is simp)ly an excuse lor not supplying it. 
They do need it and should have it. A sheep 
never cares to drink much at a time, but likes to 
take a sip quite often. I have found it more profit- 
able to indulge the wants of my stock than my own. 
They should have salt always before them, in 
boxes where they can help themselves. 1 have no 
doubt that man}- sheep are injured by eating too 
much when they are not regularly fed. This may 
seem to some farmers like " puttering work," but 
it is strict attention to the details ol business that 
brings success. One of Wellington's friends said 
to him, on reading the records of his India cam- 
paign, "It seems to me, Duke, that vour chief bu- 
siness in India was to procure rice and bullocks." 
" And so it was," he replied," "for, if I had rice 
and bullocks, I had men, and if I had men, I knew 
I could conquer the enemy." The same principle 
is illustrated in the soiling system. First secure 
plenty of food, and you may be sure of stock to 
eat it. If you supply good food, you may expect 
good stock ; if a large quantity, a large number; 
if a large number, you may have a rich soil ; if a 
rich soil, you may become a rich man. 



no , SOILING. 



Experience of Mr. Charles Francis. 

Middleport, N. Y. 
Mr. F. S, Peer, Esq., E. Palmyra, N. Y. 

My Dear Sir: — In reply to your request as to 
the *' methods I have adopted in growing-, hand- 
ling and feeding soiling crops," I will reply by say- 
ing that during the present season, I am soiling 
eighteen head of milch cows, and must say, that 
every year's experience with the soiling system, 
leads to a firmer conviction that it is the most eco- 
nomical and profitable way of feeding farm stock. 

My farm fences were in very bad condition 
when I bought it. I took possession in the spring 
of 1878. I spent considerable money and all the 
time we had the first season in building fences. 
But one cannot fence a farm of two hundred and 
forty acres all at once. An e'arly spring soon 
drove us to the fields, with the amount of fencing 
that 1 had intended to build, not half complete. 

The result was that we were obliged to take our 
cows to the barn and cut their feed and draw it to 
them there. I had read a number of articles in 
my agricultural papers, on the subject of soiling, 
and, as an alternative, I accepted that mode of 
feeding, though I must acknowledge that it was 
with grave misgivings. It seemed to me that the 
amount of labor necessary to cut and bring to the 
cows their daily food, would require at least an 
extra hand. As I think of it now, it seemed like 
labor thrown away. That was before I had given 
it a trial. But now I am heartily glad, for it has 
saved me at least three thousand dollars, which I 
should have had to expend in fencing, had I not 
been compelled to change my course. For, since 



EXPERIENCE IN SOILING. Ill 

my first attempt at soiling, I have not built a rod 
of fence, and am taking down that which I had 
built. As I have before mentioned, my farm con- 
tains two hundred and forty acres. I have now 
but three fields that are fenced, and I intend re- 
moving some of them another year. 

The plan I have adopted in growing and feeding 
soiling crops,' may be stated as follows : Beginning 
in the fall, sow two or three sowings of rye, — 
enough to last until clover and grass is fit to cut 
in June. I find that an acre of rye or oats will 
feed my eighteen cows little more than a week. I 
have also three sowings of oats, two acres each 
time of sowing, two weeks apart. Following the 
oats, I have eighty acres of sweet corn, planted at 
different times, which I use for soiling, after 
plucking the ears for a canning factory, at eight 
dollars per ton, putting the surplus in shocks for 
winter feeding.' We have in our barnyard a large 
feed rack*\vhich is filled every morning, fresh from 
the field, the cow^s running to it at will in the yard. 
The extra labor required to cut and feed the entire 
eighteen head, 1 have found to take from iVz to 2 
hours per day. The cutting is done with a scythe 
or corn cutter, as the case requires, by a man, with 
a boy to assist in loading and driving the team. 

From May ist until October ist (twenty-two 
weeks) my entire herd has been kept from w^hat 
has grown on seventeen acres. I feel safe to say 
that forty acres of pasture would not have sus- 
tained them in as good condition and flow of milk. 
My cows are all healthy and, considering that they 
are all rpilch cows, are in excellent condition. 

As to soiling sheep, my experience is limited to 
one season's trial, which was, however, very satis 
factory, — so much so that I am inclined to adopt 



112 SOILING. 

it altogether as soon as I can get my farm in 
proper shape. I had, at the time referred to (sum- 
mer df 1880), 90 ewes and 75 or 80 lambs. They 
were turned in the field to pasture during the fore 
part of the season, where it was intended to plant 
corn. On removing them to another field poorly 
fenced, they became so troublesome, and at that 
busy season of the year when there is no time to 
devote to rebuilding fences, I finally had them 
shut up in the yard adjoining their winter quarters, 
intending only to keep them there for a short 
time, until we could rebuild or repair the fence. 
We were at that time feeding our horses from 
grass mown daily from the orchard near by, con- 
veying it to the barn in a wheelbarrow. In the 
same way, the sheep were fed in their winter 
feeding racks, allowmg them the run of the yard 
referred to, two barrow loads a day, morning and 
night. Three pecks of poor beans and one peck of 
corn, mixed, was fed at noon. They kept in fine 
condition. In fact, I never had sheep do better. 
I was keeping them for a mere nothing. Sold all 
the lambs and forty ewes to the butcher. Could 
not say how much land was cut over per day to 
feed them, as the farm teams were fed from the 
same cutting. 

Now, sir, I have given as you requested, my ex- 
perience in soiling cattle and sheep. I should not 
consent to have you publish my doings, as 1 am 
but a beginner m3^self, were it not that I enter- 
tain the hope that it may lead and encourage 
others to try. If what I have said shall accomplish 
that much, I shall feel amply paid for my effort. 

Yours, Respectfully, 

C. H. FRANCIS. 



EXPERIENCE. II3 

I had the pleasure of visiting Mr. Francis' farm 
early in June last and suggested to him that he 
might like it better and find it more economical to 
feed his cows in their stalls where they would 
waste less and could be protected from the sun and 
the flies. Some time after my return, I received 
the following letter : 

Middleport, Oct. 29th, 1881. 

F. S. Peer, 

Dear Sir ; — A few days after you were here I 
commenced feeding the cows in their stalls. I am 
fully satisfied that the two acres of oats, referred to 
in my letter on soiling cattle, would have fed the 
eighteen head three weeks in their stalls. I am 
fully satisfied that fourteen acres of rye or oats 
would keep the herd the twenty-two weeks, and, 
such a season as this has been, they would not do 
as well on fifty acres ot pasture. I shall remove 
the rack in the yard and feed all in the stalls. I 
am surprised at the amount of feed that was 
wasted in feeding in the rack. 

Respectfully Yours, 

C. H. FRANCIS. 



1 14 SOILING. 

WINTER SOILING. 

ENSILAGE. 

** France, Germa^3^ and other portions of Eu- 
rope have practised summer soiHng for centuries." 
For winter feeding^ h(^\vever, they have been 
obhged to cure sufficient fodder to keep their stock 
through the winter. There were numerous ob- 
jections tothis kind of food. The same grasses on 
which a cow would give an abundance of milk, 
from which rich, golden butter, of a very superior 
quality was made during the summer, if taken 
from the same fiel'd, if you please, cured and fed to 
her in the winter, produced a far smaller quantity 
of milk, and butter without color or flavor. Again, 
their young cattle would thrive and grow rapidly 
during the summer, while the same feed, cured for 
winter use, barely kept them from going back, to 
say nothing of improvement. Indeed, the farmer 
feels quite satisfied if his stock " hold their own" 
during the winter, even with the assistance of 
grains. If it were possible to supply stock in win- 
ter with such succulent and nutritions food as they 
obtain during the summer, on which they thrive 
and even fatten, the 'difficulties referred to would, 
in a great measure, be overcome. The advantages 
derived from securing a crop of grass or forage 
when in its most succulent state, and thus preserv- 
ing it for Avinter consumption, are 

I St. — That the farmer is enabled to continue the 
soiling system throughout the entire year. 

2d. — More stock can be kept on the same num- 
ber of acres, or the same on a less number. 



WINTER SOILING. II 5 

3d. — The accumulation of manure. 

4th. — The greater production of milk, butter, 
beef, wool or mutton. 

5 th — The more thriving condition of young stock. 

6th. — Less money must be invested in barns, in 
which to store winter food. 

With all these advantages to be gained, it is no 
wonder that Mother Necessity gave birth to an 
invention that would overcome nearly all obstacles 
and make attainable the benefits sought. 

As we have already considered most of the ad- 
vantages to be found by adopting the system of 
ensilage under similar heads on the subject of soil- 
ing, we will take only a passing notice of them, 
considering them only as far as their effects pro- 
duce further proof of the practicability of con- 
ducting the soiling system throughout the entire 
year. 

I St. — All animals prefer their food green. Analy- 
sis makes no account of the juice of plants ; but 
calls it so many pounds of water. Why is it then, 
when it is fed with the water in it, that it pro- 
duces far better results in the attainment of beef, 
milk, butter, mutton and wool, than when cured, 
which is simply the taking out of what the chem- 
ist calls water, by the process of evaporation ? 

Again, if none of the value of forage crops is lost 
by curing, it must be locked up in the woody fiber 
of the plants and cannot be assimilated until 
thoroughly cooked (steamed) or soaked. I am in- 
clined to the latter opinion, but, nevertheless, the 
water, or juice, though it may possess no value of 
nourishment more than well or rainwater, yet, it it 
is the means of holding the properties of plant-food 
in the condition that renders them capable of be- 
ing easily and entirely assimilated by the animal 



Il6 SOILING. 

which consumes them, it should be credited with 
performing all that it is necessar}- for man to do by 
cooking, &c., in order to obtain the full benefits of 
it. And, even when we have been to the expense 
of 5teaning, soaking, &c., which no doubt places 
all cured feed in a better condition for the animal 
to extract its feeding value, yet no advocate of 
cooked food ever pretends to say that it is thus 
fully restored to the condition that produces the 
same results as when fed in its green state. In re- 
gard to the value of water as food for farm stock, 
Dr. M. Miles, {American AgriailUirist, p. 53, 1882) 
says : " It will also be readily seen that the supply 
of water should be constant, or at least frequently 
repeated, to secure uniformity in the fluidity of the 
blood and the various secretions. Water must be 
recognized as a food, and it should be given with 
the same regularity as other food. Magendie 
found that dogs, supplied with water alone, lived 
from six to ten days longer than those that were 
deprived of both food and water ; so that water 
has undoubtedly an important function to perform 
in the system, aside from the dilution of other nu- 
tritious substances. The addition of green food 
in some form, to the winter rations of our farm 
animals, will be found advantageous for many rea- 
sons, and the amount of water required by them 
as drink will by this means be diminished." 

It always seemed to me, when walking over a 
field of newly mown hay, the air loaded with its 
delicate perfume, that there was a loss going on 
which I had no power to restrain. Then there is 
a great difficulty in securing the crop, (especially 
clover) waiting sometimes for better weather, the 
crops rapidly passing from its most nutritious con- 
dition to a riper one of less value, or when in the 



WINTER SOILING. 11/ 

process of curing a heavy shower robs it of a large 
per cent, of its value, sometimes leaving it little bet- 
ter than so much straw. To all of this the farmer 
7nust submit. But, if the crop is to be ensilaged, 
the farmer is master of the situation, — no waiting 
until the dew is off, no need of stopping for a pass- 
ing shower, so far as its being a damage to the feed 
is concerned. In fact, a heavy dew or a light 
shower, unless a hindrance to the work, is more to 
be thankful for than otherwise. 

The cutting may be begun and completed when 
the forage is in its best and most perfect condition 
and, as we shall presently show, at a less expense 
than if cured as hay. 

2d and 3d. — In regard to keeping more stock 
and the attainment of manure. AH that might be 
said here on this subject, has been mentioned under 
" Summer Soiling." 

4th. — In regard to the greater production of 
milk, butter, beef, wool and mutton, there can be 
but one opinion. If stock are provided with com- 
fortable quarters, there is no reason why the man- 
ufacturmg of butter may not be carried on as suc- 
cessfully and as profitably, if not more so, during 
the winter, as in the summer months. Good, fresh 
i winter butter is worth from 10 to 15 cents per 
j pound more than that of the same quality, made 
I during the summer. The necessary labor may be 
1' had for from one-half to three-quarters less. It 
\ greatly reduces the profit on butter where farmers 
I are obhged to hire their help, especially d.uring the 
busy season, when the help in the field is worth 
I $2.00 per day. 

! Again, there is no annoyance from flies, and all 

the unpleasant incidents to butter making, that oc- 

i cur in hot weather. There is also no necessity for 



Il8 SOILING. 

ice, &c. My own plan since adopting the system 
of winter soiling (with lo or 14 milch cows) is to 
have (as near as possible) one coming fresh in milk 
every month in the year. Thus I am able to sup- 
ply my customers with butter, fresh every week 
or two, uniform in quantity and quality, during the 
entire year. 

In regard to the production of beet, I have no 
personal experience, but from all reports it is high- 
ly recommended. For sheep, I think very highly 
of it, especially where it is desirable to have early 
lambs. The ewes giving more milk, and it being 
a food that young lambs will learn to eat, when 
but a few days old. 

5th. — In regard to a more thriving condition of 
young stock when fed ensilage, in comparison 
with dry fodder, I am also very much pleased at 
the results. I never had young stock do as well 
as last winter, 1 880-1 (which was my first year's 
experience) although confined to their winter 
quarters for over 9 months. 

6th. — Less money invested in barn room in 
which to store winter feed. 

A cubic foot of ensilage, if cut at the proper 
time, and well pressed, will weigh about 50 lbs. 
Therefore one ton would occupy only 40 cubic 
feet. A ton of hay in mow or stack, is estimated 
to occupy 525 cubic feet, or 13 times as much 
space as a ton of ensilage ; but, as it requires 
about two tons of ensilage to equal in feeding value 
a ton of hay, the ensilage would require less than 
one-sixth as much space. In other words, if a 
farmer were to build for the storage of hay, or a 
building in which to ensilage the same, the former 



WINTER SOILING. II9 

(of the same material)\vould cost about 6 times as 
much. 



THE DISCOVERY. 

The discovery of the method of preserving fod- 
der green, is attributed to Monsieur Goffart, of 
France. After many experiments, and the ex- 
penditure of considerable money, his achievments 
were crowned with success and honor. For years 
he held to the idea that the fodder should be at 
least partly cured, and that it should be put in the 
building in alternate layers with straw, until, more 
by chance than otherwise, he discovered that the 
curing process and the use of straw, were the very 
causes, more than anything else, that held back the 
discovery, and that perfect preservation was only 
attained when the forage was brought directly 
from the field as fast as cut, passing it through a 
feed cutter, which, making it finer, admitted of 
closer packing. 

The principle is to exclude the air. The forage 
should, therefore, not only be very closely packed, 
but all the cells containing the juice should be kept 
full. These cells or pores are emptied by evapora- 
tion or curing, and air takes the place. The or- 
dinary pressure is not sufficient to expel it. The 
plant, therefore, contains within itself sufficient air 
(oxygen) to destroy it. 



120 SOILING. 

THE SILO. 

" Silo" is a French word and means "a pit " {en 
silo, in a pit), and this is the origin of the word, 
*' ensilag-e," the manner of storing green fodder in 
a pit, or "in an air-tight manner." The material 
used in this country at present is generally mason- 
ry, or concrete with cement floors, and walls plas- 
tered with the same or water-lime. The inner sur- 
face of the walls should be perpendicular and 
smooth, so that they will offer no resistance to the 
settling of the forage. Some report very satis- 
factory results from silos built entirely of wood 
(matched boards or planks), others, where the soil 
is such as to exclude water (rock or clay) preserved 
forage successfully by digging pits or trenches, 
afterwards covering with earth. 



HOW LARGE TO BUILD. 

In estimating the size of the building necessary 
to supply your herd and flock, i head (looo lbs.) 
will consume in a day 2 to 2V2. cubic feet of ensilage. 
This is a full ration. If other feed, such as hay or 
coarse fodder, is to constitute part, it may be ta- 
ken into consideration. It is also well enough to 
have room so that the number of your stock may 
be enlarged. At 2>^ cubic feet per day, i head 
will consume in 6 months (180 days), which is 
about the length of our winters in this section) 450 
cubic feet, to which add, say 50 cubic feet for set- 
tling, or 500 cubic feet. Multiplying this by the 
number of head, will give the size of the building 
required, in cubic feet. 



WINTER SOILING. 121 

WHERE AND HOW TO BUILD. 

The silo, if possible, should be so built that a 
door from it will open directly into the cow-sta- 
ble, and the bottom, or floor of the silo should not 
be more than one or two steps below that of the 
stable. They may be built either above or below 
ground, or partly above and partly below. The 
position of the stables should determine. It is all 
useless to dig, as some have, ten to fifteen feet 
below the surface, making it necessar}^ to lift 200 
or 300 tons up and out. Others think that, as it is 
necessary to fill the building by attaching a carrier 
to the feed cutter, and elevating it over the top of 
the wall, it must necessarily be taken out over this 
wall, and they are obliged to rig derricks or be to 
great task to get the feed out. 

Now this is a mistaken idea. It is all right to fill 
the silo by elevating the cut forage over the top of 
the wall, but it may be taken out through a door 
anywhere in the wall where most convenient and 
with the least labor. In which case, the door must 
of course be sealed air-tight, which I have found 
no trouble in doing, by simply closing the door, 
which is hung on the outside of the casings (walls 
20 inches thick), boarding up on the inside of the 
door casings with matched boards, even with the 
plastered surface of the wall, thus leaving a space 
the thickness of the wall, which I fill with sawdust, 
packing it tight ; nothing more. The bottom of 
the silo is about 18 inches below the top of the 
ground. The walls on the inside are 15 feet high, 
and one end of the building stands against a side 
hill, where the top of the ground is about 8 feet 
above the bottom of the silo. The filling is dvone 
at this end by attaching a 12-foot carrier to the 



122 SOILING. 

cutter, the cutter standing on a raised platform 3 
feet above the ground. If the silo is not near the 
barn, or if desirous to draw the ensilage to a dis- 
tance, the floor should be on a level with the 
ground outside, and the door wide enough to back 
a wagon or cart inside and fill it. I know of a silo 
30 or 40 feet from the stabfes, six feet under 
ground and six above, where the ensilage is all ele- 
vated over the top of the wall, and carried, a 
bushel at a time, to the stock. I repeat, it is a 
mistaken and useless practice, that may be easily 
avoided by having the door t:hrough which the 
feed is to be taken out on a level, or nearl}^ so, 
with the stables, and if possible, open directly into 
them. The deeper the silo, the better, as it costs 
no more to roof it, and the planks and weights re- 
quired to press five feet deep, would answer as 
well for fifteen or twenty. 

My own silo was formerly an old stone carriage 
house. When I became convinced that ensilage 
was not a humbug, that by its adoption my stock 
would be supplied with green food during the en- 
tire year, and that it would be to a great degree a 
continuation of the soiling system, (the advantages 
of which I was already familiar with), I was not 
long in making up my mind, and therefore needed 
httle, if any, encouragement to undertake it, and 
soon set to work remodeling the old barn, taking 
out the hay loft, floor and stalls below, walling up 
the doors and windows, except the door already 
referred to. It has a storage capacity when fil led, 
sufficient for 25 head of full-grown stock for six 
months. 



WINTER SOILING. 1 23 

NUMBER OF TONS PER ACRE. 

Last season we estimated by weight of a cubic 
foot (50 lbs.) that we had 160 tons of ensilage 
which grew on ^/4 acres. It was the greatest 
growth of fodder I ever saw. The seed was the 
Western Dent variety, growing from 7 to 9 feet 
high. Some claim as high as 40 to "60 tons per 
acre, but I must say it was a mystery to me and 
many others hinv an acre of land could produce 
twice the amount that was grown upon the 5/^ 
acres referred to. 



CROPS FOR ENSILAGE. 

Any green forage may be ensilaged, if cut at the 
proper time, /. e. ; when in blossom, or several 
kinds mixed, providing they flower about the 
same time, but corn fodder, on account of its ex- 
uberant growth, is usually preferred to other 
grasses. It will yield from 3 to 5 times as much 
feed per acre, and is not particularly exhausting 
to the soil, as shown by the analysis in respect to 
its nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, as com- 
pared with other green crops. I have grown corn 
fodder year after year on the same ground with 
equally good results. 

Says Goffart, (Brown's translation, p. 15), '' Some 
of my finest maize occupies a field which, during 
the past eighteen 3^ears, has borne fourteen har- 
vests of that plant, without giving any signs of 
weariness ; on the contrary, the latter yield is bet- 
ter than the former." 

Some advocate following corn with rye in the 



124 SOILING. 

fall, ensilaging the rye in the spring for summer 
feeding, and sowing the ground again to corn, thus 
securing two crops from the same land in one 
year. This may easily be accomplished, so far as 
the rotation is concerned, but will doubtless re- 
quire heavy manuring. A better plan would be to 
sow the field to rye after the corn is cut in the fall, 
and plow it under as a manure, the following 
spring in time for corn. If analysis is worth any- 
thing, the rye would supply the field with nearly 
enough plant food to grow the corn. 



METHODS OF CULTURE. 

The corn should be sown in drills from 2 to 3 
feet apart. If desirable to fertilize with barn-yard 
manure in the hill, the rows should be furrowed 
out with a shovel plow, the manure sprinkled in 
the track and covered lightly with soil before put- 
ting in the seed. Or an easier and less laborious 
way of attaining the same results, is to top-dress 
after the corn is up. On some soils it may be ad- 
visable to plow the manure under, especially if 
very coarse ; but experience has taught me, that 
upon my farm, top-dressing produces far better 
results. The corn may be put in with a common 
(nine tooth) field grain drill, by altering the tubes 
or spouts that conduct the grain from the hopper 
to the drill teeth, as follows: closing No. i, and 
letting 2 and 4 discharge into 3 ; closing No. 5, 
and letting 6 and 8 discharge into 7. If the drills 
are 8 inches apart, this will make the rows of corn 
32 inches apart, putting in two rows at a time, the 
wheels serving as a guide on return boujts. The 



WINTER SOILING. 1 25 

ground should be rolled. As soon as the corn be- 
gins to prick through the soil sufficiently to show 
the rows, it may have a dressing of plaster (gyp- 
sum) with good results. If composted with ashes, 
fine manure and muck, so much the better. In se- 
lecting a variety of corn for ensilage fodder, the 
kind that produces the most leaves should have 
the preference. Principal among the varieties used 
for this purpose, may be mentioned the Southern 
White, Western Dent, and Blunt's Prolific. 

Last season I sowed at the rate of 2, 2>^ and 3 
bushels per acre, 'in drills 32 inches apart. I am 
satisfied that 2 bushels per acre is sufficient. The 
corn should be cultivated with the horse-hoe until 
the ground is completely shaded. If the soil is not 
stony, the cultivating may be done until the corn 
is 4 or 5 inches high, with a smoothing harrow, 
such as the " Thomas," manufactured at Geneva, 
N. Y. Corn, either for soiling or ensilage, should 
never be sown broad-cast, for reasons already 
given. 



CUTTING AND STORING. 

The cutting may be done with a stoutly built 
self-raking reaper, which has already been referred 
to, — two men to bind the fodder, assisted occasion- 
ally by the one who reaps. Two men, each with a 
one-horse lumber wagon, draw the fodder to the 
silo alternately, so that while one is loading at the 
field, the other is unloading at the platform, where 
stands a powerful feed cutter, through which the 
fodder is passed, cutting it H of an inch in length, 
as fast as two men could feed it. The carrier (12 



126 SOILING. 

feet) attachment elevated it into the silo, where 
one man is employed spreading and treading it 
down. Some recommend using a horse or mule 
for this purpose, but think it is unnecessary. 

Dr. Baily draws the fodder from the field in 
dump carts without binding, unloading at the silo 
by dumping. Others have ropes underneath 
the load, to which a horse is attached and the 
whole load pulled off at once. My plan for the 
coming season, is to load on to a flat rack with 
stakes before and behind, without binding, using 
12 or more slings (ropes) whicR, with the aid of a 
derrick or horse could be lifted upon the table of 
the feed cutter with ease. It would save at least 
the labor of two men and much heavy lifting. 



PRESSING. 

After the ensilage is all in, or the building filled, 
there is generally spread evenly over the surface, 
from I to 2 feet of uncut straw, after which a floor 
oi iVi or 2 inch plank (rough) is laid upon the 
straw. It was formerly thought that it was neces- 
sary to have the planks matched, the object being 
to press the ensilage so hard and close that there 
is no room for air, more than to attempt to exclude 
it by having an air-tight cover. This plank cover- 
ing should be weighted with at least loolbs. to the 
square foot, which may be obtained by using stone, 
bags of sand, or earth. Dr. Baily saws kerosene 
barrels through the middle, fastening to each half 
an iron bail. He fills the tubs with sand or stones 
and, by means of a derrick, places them on the 
plank. The same derrick is used to unload when 



WINTER SOILING. 12; 

the ensilage is required for feeding. Others use 
screws, some from above the ensilage, others by 
means of inch iron rods passing up through the 
ensilage and through a timber passing length- 
wise of the building and on top of the plank, by 
means of a nut on the end of rods, which is tight- 
ened three times a day, for two or three weeks. 

Care should be taken not to press too hard, or 
the juice of the fodder may be extracted. For 
some reasons the weighting process is the best. 
When once applied, it needs no further attention ; 
its pressure is continued day and night ; it holds 
all it gains, and there is no danger of pressing too 
hard. On the whole, I am inchned to think 
Dr. Baily's plan the best and most economical. 



OPENING THE SILO. 

Six or eight weeks should elapse after filling, be- 
fore the silo is opened, to allow sufficient time for 
the ensilage to become thoroughly packed. The 
sealed door rel erred to may now be opened, 
taking out the filling and boards on the inside, 
using only the outer door, taking up two or more 
plank the whole width of the silo. With a ha}^ 
knife cut down, leaving a perpendicular wall of 
ensilage. This cutting should extend to the fioor 
as it may be needed to feed. There will be no 
difficulty arising from leaving the ensilage exposed, 
providing another cutting follows within a week 
or two. 



128 SOILING. 

FEEDING. 

It is generally considered that two tons of en- 
silage are worth one ton "of hay. Every kind of 
farm stock prefer ensilage, to the best kind of dry 
fodder. This has been repeatedly proven by plac- 
ing hay and ensilage side by side in the yard, leav- 
ing the cows to choose. This is perhaps a stronger 
argument in favor of its superiority over dry fod- 
der, than those advanced by some skeptical farmers 
opposed to ensilage, who have had no experience 
with it. 1 have no practical knowledge of chemis- 
try, therefore will not attempt to dispute the point 
that there may be found as much feeding value in 
the same amount of forage ensilaged or cured, 
that is to say, of two acres of clover of equal 
growth, ensilaging one and making hay of the 
other. Nevertheless, I do maintain that the animal 
food in the ensilage will be more easily assimilated 
by the animal, and thus be more profitable to the 
feeder. Analysis also shows that some fields con- 
tain an abundance of plant food, and yet do not 
produce as great a growth of plants as a neighbor- 
ing field that has less plant food. Why ? Simply 
because in the former case, the plant food is insol- 
uble, and the plant fails to assimilate sufficient 
food to produce as good results as in the second 
case, where there is less plant food, but more solu- 
ble, and therefore more easily assimilated with the 
nature of the plant. 

The greatest and most characteristic benefits 
to be derived from ensilaging green fodder is, 
that by the use of corn, and other grasses, that 
produce great quantities of feed, there may be 
from 6 to lo times as much feed obtained from 
the same number of acres. Ground that will pro- 



WINTER SOILING. 1 29 

duce one ton of cured hay per acre will, I think, 
produce 12 to 20 tons of ensilage, equal to 6 or 10 
tons of hay. 

On this question, i. e., the saving of land, it seems 
to me there can be no hair-splitting discussion, but 
that there is a profit, clear, distinct and undeniable. 
It may be asked if it would not be cheaper to cure 
.ihe corn fodder in the field by shocking it, than to 
cut and put it into a silo. I "^answer emphatically 
no, and for the following reasons : It costs no more 
to cut and bind it, than to cut and shock it. It 
must in either case, be drawn to the barn. It is 
certainly preferable to secure it all at once, where 
it is in easy reach of the cows, where the feeding 
may be done with ease and comfort, let the weath- 
er be what it rriay, rather than to leave it standing 
in the field, or in small stacks near the barn until 
wanted for use, exposing it to the weather, freezing 
fast to the ground, often being blown over, and cov- 
ered with snow and ice when wanted to feed. 

Any farmer that has had one year's practical 
experience in this latitude, trying to cure corn 
fodder for winter use, is not apt to repeat the ex- 
periment, and this is not all, much of the value of 
the food is thus wasted, or in the curing process, 
and also becomes less valuable for food. I have 
tried both ways, and can unhesitatingly say that 
the system of ensilaging fodder is more economical 
than trying to cure it. 

Before opening the silo, we had fed, morning 
and night for two weeks, all the cornstalks the cows 
would eat, and roots and wheat chaff at noon ; but 
our butter was white aud lacked flavor. It was a 
poor substitute for a first-class article. 

We opened the silo November 12th, and forth- 
with began to feed ensilage twice .a day, morning 



m 



SOILING. 



and night, and straw and roots at noon as before. 
At the fourth day's feeding, the quantity of milk 
was very nearly doubled, and as to the butter, it 
was equal in flavor to, and in color only a few 
shades lighter than that made in summer from 
green food. 

We continued feeding in the last described man- 
ner for five or six weeks, and with the same pleas- 
ing results. Then, in order to dispose of our 
coarse fodder, we substituted cornstalks and barley 
straw (cut and fed dry) for the morning feeding of 
ensilage. The decrease in the amount of milk was 
very marked, the yield shrinking about one-fourth. 
The color was also considerably lighter. Hoping 
to make up for this deficiency, we added two 
quarts of corn meal per head to the ration of dry 
fodder, but it did not fully compensate for the full 
feeding of ensilage. The quality and color of the 
butter was not equal to that made from ensilage 
and roots alone, the quantity however, was in- 
creased to about the same. The following shows 
the cost of ensilaging five and one-half acres of 
corn fodder, or one hundred and sixty tons : 



7 men. $i, per day, 4 days, 
Boarding 5 men 2 meals per day, 
Engine and Engineer, $4.00 per 

day, 
Fuel and Oil, 

Total cost of labor to secure 160 

tons. 
Cost of seed, fitting the ground 

and cultivating. 



Total Cost, 



Total, 


Per acre 


$28 00 




6 00 




16 GO 




4 GO 




$54 00 


$ 9 82 


27 50 


5 00 


$81 50 


$14 82 



Per ton. 



33 
17 
50 



WINTER SOILING. t3l 

Upon 5 acres, in a field of 12 acres, I grew 30 
tons of ensilage per acre. The remaining 7 acres, 
cut for hay, produced less than one ton of hay per 
acre. This was not a full yield, as the clover grubs 
were very numerous. However, the field has 
never, under the most favorable circumstances, 
produced over iK tons of hay per acre. There- 
fore I feel safe in saying that land capable of pro- 
ducing 2 tons of hay per acre, will grow (without 
manure) 30 tons of corn fodder per acre, if the 
proper kind of seed is sown. 

I have had no way of personally testing the feed- 
ing value of ensilage as compared with hay. As 
before stated, those that have written upon the 
subject, claim that they have discovered by actual 
test that " 2 tons of ensilage are equal to i ton of 
the best kind of hay." But simply for the sake of 
comparison, and not to insinuate that I doubt the 
truthfulness of the assertion, let us suppose that it 
will require /^?/r tons of ensilage to equal one of 
hay, and as a basis of calculation, say that an acre 
of ground capable of producing 30 tons of ensilage 
per acre, will produce 2 tons of hay. The com- 
parative value of the two crops will be found in 
the following table. 



1 32 



SOILING. 



Table showing the value of i acre of Corn Fodder 

for Ensilage, as compared with i acre of 

Grass for Hay. 





Ensilage. 


Hay. 




Dr. 


Cr. 


Dr. 


Cr.f 


2 tons of hay, feeding value at $15. 
per ton, 

Seed I acre, 

Cost of curing and delivering to 
barn, 

30 tons of Ensilage, equal to 7^ 
tons of hay at $15. per ton, 

Seed, fitting the ground and culti- 
vating, 

Labor to cut and secure 30 tons of 
Ensilage, 


$ 5 00 
$ 9 82 


$102 50 


$ I 00 
$ 2 50 


$30 00 


Total, 
Balance, 


$14 82 


$102 50 
$ 14 82 


$ 3 50 


$30 00 
3 50 


Net Value, 

Balance, 

Profit of I acre of Ensilage over i 
of Hay, 




$ 87 68 
26 50 

$ 61 18 




$a6 50 



The amount of feed that may be produced from 
one acre by growing upon it a crop of corn fodder 
instead of hay, is where the farmer may look for 
the great profit of ensilage over dry feed, and this 
profit is so distinct, that he need not hesitate to 
adopt the system on account of the fact that analy- 
sis shows that there is no more value in an acre of 
grass ensilaged, than an acre of grass cured for 



WINTER SOILING. 1 33 

hay. As I have before stated, I have no reason to 
enter into a hair-sphtting- discussion upon this 
view of the subject, because, by growing corn fod- 
der and securing it, I am able to show a profit by 
the system of ensilage that defies all contradiction, 
and is clear and undeniable. 

The illustrations on pages 134-5, are designed 
to represent the ground plan and elevation of a 
moderate sized barn, — upright part 30x40 feet ; 
shed 30x35 leet ; manure shed, 14x30 feet. 

The plan of cow's stable is the same as that rep- 
re sented on a previous page, where the measure- 
ments are given. P is the feed alley ; M M are 
mangers ; d d are the drops ; P P passages behind 
the cows, which open by rolling doors into the 
manure shed ; c is the cart in which to draw ensil- 
age from the silo along down the feeding alley P, 
and in front of the mangers of the box stalls B B, 
and the feeding trough of the sheep shed, making 
it convenient and easy to feed all the stock. 

When soihng, the loads of feed are driven on to 
the barn floor above and thrown down through 
the floor into the feed alley P, at c. W is a well 
or spring on the line of a fence separating the 
yards. 



134 



SOILING. 




WINTER SOILING. 



135 




cO 



\. 



ta 



CD 



ca 



CD 



"D 



< 



Q 

or- 



a3H9 3^nNV^ 



136 SOILING. 

ENSILAGE SOILING. 



In regard to adopting the system of ensilage as 
a method of summer soiling, I do not agree with 
some writers, who claim that it will be found as 
economical as soiling. There is really but one 
thing in its favor, whereas the objections are nu- 
merous. The only gain is, that a w^hole field may 
be secured at one time. 

The objections are, that it is more expensive 
than soiling ; when soiling, the crops, when brought 
to the barn, may be dehvered directly to the stock, 
and the labor may be performed by a boy, where- 
as, if ensilaged, besides drawing to the barn and 
feeding, it must be passed through a cutting ma- 
chine, requiring some kind of power, to run it. It 
must also be spread, and tightly packed, covered, 
weighted, uncovered, cut down, and taken out of 
the silo, without adding to the quality of the food. 

This extra labor makes it, in my opinion, im- 
practicable to adopt the system of ensilage for 
summer feeding, instead of soiling. There is 
nothing within the four walls of a silo that adds to, 
or destroys the feeding value of forage, if properly 
secured ; but simply from an economical point of 
view, soiling is superior to ensilage. 

However, ensilage will be found more profitable 
than pasturing. For the purpose of showing the 
relative value of the three systems of feeding, i. e. ; 
by pasturing, by feeding and by soiling, we will 
estimate, as a basis of calculation, that it will re- 
quire 2 acres of land capable of producing 2 tons 
of hay per acre, to support i cow 6 months, or 180 
days, and that land equally productive, will pro- 
duce 30 tons of ensilage fodder per acre, or that it 



ENSILAGE SOILING. 



137 



will require /4 of a square rod of corn fodder (as 
previously shown) to support i cow a day (or 24 
hours). From this hypothesis, we may easily find 
the comparative feeding values in dollars and cents, 
of 2 acres of land under each of the three systems 
of feeding. 

Table showing the Comparative feeding value of 
Pasturing, Ensilage, and Soihng. 





Pasture. 


Ensilage. 


Soiling. 




Dr. 


Cr. 


Dr. 


Cr. 


Dr. 


Cr. 


Feeding value of 2 acres by pasture, 50 
cents per week, 180 day e, 

Feeding value of 2 acres by ensilage, 
50 cents per week, 600 days, 

Feeding value of 2 acres by soiling, 50 
cents per week, 040 days, 

Cost of seed for 2 acres pasture, 

Cost of ensilaging 2 acres corn — 60 
tons at 50 cents per ton, 

Cost of soiling 1 cow 040 days, at 1»4 
cents per day, 

Cost of fitting the land and seed (soil- 
ing) $5.00 per acre. 


$2 00 


$12 00 

$12 00 
200 


$30 00 


$43 30 


19 80 
$10 00 


$45 50 


Total, 
Balance, 


$2 00 


$30 00 


$43 30 

30 00 

$13 30 


$19 80 


$45 50 
19 80 


Comparatiye profits from 2 acres, 


$10 00 


|25 70 



The above table not only shows that soiling is 
much more economical than ensilaging forage for 
summer feeding, but it also serves to show the 
proht of soiling and ensilage over pasturing. 

The table, however, does not represent the en- 
tire profit of the system of soiling and ensilage over 
pasturing, as the two former should be credited 
with 



138 SOILING. 

I St. — What is saved or g-ained by the increased 
quantity and quality of manure. 

2d. — By the greater production of beef, milk or 
butter. 

3d. — By the better condition and greater com- 
fort of farm stock. 

4th. — By the saving of fences. 

And agam, that most valuable consideration re- 
sulting from the increased quantity and quality of 
manure, i. e. ; the increased fertility of^he soil. 



SYSTEM. 139 

SYSTEM. 

There is one thing especially necessary in con- 
ducting the soiling system successfully. It is not 
capital, as some might suppose, for men without 
capital are usually the first to adopt it. It is also 
unnecessary that a man should have a large farm 
stocked and equipped, because the system is equal- 
ly well adapted to a limited number of acres. 

It appears in a work recently printed by Orange 
Judd & Co., N. Y. City, on " Keeping One Cow," 
containing the experience of fifteen different own- 
ers of one cow each, all living on small places, 
usually village or city lots, that the greatest amount 
of land required to keep a cow one year, was 2 
acres ; the lowest, iK acres. The greatest amount 
required to keep one cow through the summer, 
from May ist to Nov. ist, was i acre ; the lowest, 
was K of an acre. 

Nor will those only be successful who live near 
large cities, where land is high. Whatever may 
be the condition of the land, it is safe to say that 
the amount of land that will keep one head by pas- 
turing, will keep four by soiling. The rule works 
as well on cheap land, as on high-priced land, the 
latter not being necessarily more productive 
than the former. Therefore, if from land worth 
$25.00 per acre^ a farmer sells as many dollars' worth 
ot produce, as on land near the city, worth $200.- 
00 per acre, the soiling system is as profitable to 
one as to the other. The difference in the profit 
from soiling, will be found in the productiveness 
of the soil, and not necessarily in the price of the 
land. If, on a farm worth $100.00 per acre, a farm- 
er can keep i cow i year from an acre of land, and 



140 SOILING. 

another, whose farm, on account of its location, is 
worth $200.00 per acre, but is only capable of 
keeping i cow a year upon 2 acres, the profit in 
soihng is greatly in favor of the farmer with the 
cheaper land, so far as keeping cows is concerned. 
I mention this, because it is often stated, that 
*'it may pay to soil, where the land is high-priced," 
and to show that the price of the land is not a sure 
indication that soiling will be found successful in 1 
proportion to its cash value. I can imagine, how- I 
ever, a farmer, under the most favorable circum- | 
stances, failing to obtain satisfactory results from 
soiling, for the want of system. 

Without system, I can easily imagine that a 
farmer ma;f soon become disheartened, and pro- 
nounce the whole thing impracticable.. For in- 
stance, by omitting to sow at the proper time, or 
the proper amount. Sowing too much at a time, j 
the stock are unable to consume it in its most 
succulent state, continuing to feed until it becomes 
tough, when it is only eaten to satisfy intense 
hunger. By having too little, his cows must be 
turned into the field until the next crop is in con- 
dition, thus causing him to become dissatisfied. 

Again, I can imagine a man with plenty of feed, 
putting, at one feeding, sufficient before his cows 
to last them all day : they breathe upon it a few 
hours, and nothing short of severe hunger will in- 
duce them to take it, in which case his stock would 
shrink in the flow of milk, and increase on turning 
them to pasture, which would lead him to say that 
the cows did better at pasture, and thus condemn 
the system. 

Again, by not having properly constructed sta- 
bles or stalls, they might become very filthy and 
unhealthy, and the cow would " long for pleasant 



SYSTEM. 141 

fields and pure air," and this might lead the farmer 
to abandon the system. 

Again, his manner of cutting and feeding might 
require more labor than the advocates of the sys- 
tem profess, and he might thus think that the sys- 
tem might be well enough for a farmer with plenty 
of capital, a " fancy farmer," a " book farmer,,' but 
not for him. 

Again, by his undertaking too much at once and 
getting everything all mixed up, I can imagine the 
last state of that man, as worse than the first. 

But by so systematizing the work, that every 
want will be supplied, I can assure, yes, guarantee, 
any man success. He need not, necessarily, follow 
in detail the plan I have laid out in the previous 
pages, for it is not so perfect but that it may be 
improved. I know, if closely followed, the system 
will lead to success, therefore I may be pardoned 
for saying, that until you can learn by actual expe- 
rience, a better way, T would advise the beginner 
to adhere to the plan I have pointed out, in all 
essential points. I have tried many things that 
thought has suggested, that indeed looked as if they 
would result in improvements, but, when put to 
the test, were found wanting. I have no fear of 
contradiction from those who have successfully 
practiced soiling, when I say that the principal 
requisite necessary to success by soiling, is system. 

The work of sowing, cutting and feeding, should 
all be placed in the charge of one person, who can 
be relied upon to do the work as directed, and 
when the daily routine is once established, it will 
be found much less laborious than it seems to be. 
The labor is comparatively light ; it may be per- 
formed by a boy ; but nothing can be left to chance. 

When the proper time comes for sowing, the 



142 SOILING. 

work must be done. The cutting must also be 
attended to when the crop is ready. The feeding 
also must be regular and uniform in quantity. 

The stables cannot be neglected for a day or 
two without cleaning. It is unnecessary to say 
what the results of this neglecting an easy task 
would be. With a little practice, and by a person 
not entirely destitute of ability to work systemati- 
cally, he cannot easily fail of conducting the soil- 
ing system with profit, and also to enjoy the many 
advantages that it affords. I have never heard of 
a man who once thoroughly adopted the system, 
who was not, ever afterwards, decidedly pronounc- 
ed in its favor. 

The methods employed, have a tendency to lead 
the farmer to the performance of all other labor on 
the farm with more system, and to conduct the 
profession more on business principles, and demon- 
strate more clearly the force of the old adage, 
" Thne is moficyT He is not a husbandman in the 
true sense of the term, who fails to comprehend 
that, by a systematic husbandry of time, he is as 
truly practising one of the highest arts of his pro- 
fession, as when plowing, sowing or reaping. 

I do not mean that husbandry of time consists in 
constant hard labor during every hour of the day, 
nor in obtaining from farm help an extra hour's 
work before sunrise or after sundown, but that it 
does consist in so systematizing the work, that his 
help will accomplish as much in lo or 12 hours, as 
in 14 or 16. 

The farmer does not accumulate wealth by grand 
speculations and by rapid strides, but by turning 
to account the minor details of his business. 

Therefore, of all men, the farmer should conduct 
his affairs with the most rigid system. I know of no 



SYSTEM. 143 

profession that suffers more for the want of it. It 
is due to this, more than to any other cause, that 
farming, as an occupation, is held in disrepute by 
certain classes of business men of other professions, 
and justly too ; for if any other business should be 
conducted in the same desultory manner that usual- 
ly characterizes farming, failure would inevitably 
ensue. On the contrary, were the farmers to con- 
duct their business with as much system as is 
found in every other pursuit, it would not only be 
more remunerative, but possess a greater attrac- 
tion for young men with business faculties, who 
now forsake the farm, and what they term its 
drudgery and humdrum, to engage in a pursuit 
that offers more attractions, greatly on account of 
the systematic way in which it is conducted. 

Thus they often throw away the ''pearl of indc- 
pendeiicey' for a life of unremitting toil, harassing 
and perplexing, in comparison of which labor on 
the farm is a pleasure. 



144 SOILING. 



EDUCATION FOR FARMERS. 

As Mr. Stewart says, in conducting- the soiling 
system successfully, " the need is more for head 
than hand work." 

I believe he might have extended the remark to 
every branch of agriculture, especially where the 
price of land is necessarily high. The day has 
gone by, in the older States when a man can follow 
farming because he does not know enough to do 
anything else. It may be done in the west, where 
land may be had for the asking, and so productive 
that by " the slightest effort it will produce an 
abundant harvest," but m the east, it is not only 
essential that a farmer should possess a knowledge 
of how to produce a crop from the soil, but how to 
leave the soil in as good condition as before the 
crop was taken, or better. This, in my opinion, is 
good farming ; while he who harvests a crop at 
the expense of the soil, is not a true husbandman. 

Farming is an honorable profession, but he who 
tries to obtain by it, something for nothing, is 
never a credit to his profession. There seems to 
be among some classes of farmers, a great antipa- 
thy to what they term book farmers. Why may 
every other man learn what pertains to the ad- 
vancement of his business from books, and not the 
farmer ? We point with pride to this or that man 
in the medical profession, and say he is a well read 
physician ; to a lawyer, and say he is a well read 
attorney ; to a citizen, and remark that he is the 
best read man in the place. These are chosen and 
preferred for their learning, and their excellence is 
measured by the number of books they have 
mastered. 



EDUCATION. 145 

Again, why should farmers subscribe for two or 
more papers devoted to politics, reHgion or science, 
and read them diHgently ; papers devoted to every 
subject but one? Why purchase books of fiction, 
books pertaining to all subjects but one, and that 
one Jiis own business ? Why does he consult his 
neighbor as to his methods of growing a certain 
crop, and follow his example, when, if the neighbor 
should write out his experience in book form, it 
would be denounced as book farming? Whence 
do farmers' sons get the idea, that as soon as they 
obtain an education, there is no use for it on the 
farm ? They are Isent to school ; taught chemistry, 
botany, engineering and surveying, but, from their 
fathers' examples, they have learned to think that 
such an education may do well enough for a book- 
keeper, or a dry goods clerk, but to apply such 
knoAvledge to an agricultural pursuit, is all wrong ; 
'tis book farming, and yet it is knowledge that can 
be put to practical use only on a farm. 

Do farmers mean to acknowledge that their pro- 
fession is less noble and intelligent than others ? 

What is there in farming that requires a man to 
be ignorant ? Must a farmer, in getting on in the 
world, move backward like a crab, or, as Mark 
Twain says of the inhabitants of the Azores Islands, 
among whom all efforts to introduce new and ap- 
proved methods of farming have failed, '' The 
peasants crossed themselves, and prayed to God 
to shield them from all blasphemous desire to 
know more than their fathers did before them " ? 

These questions I will leave the reader to solve. 
However, I will venture to suggest as a remedy, a 
better education for the future farmer. 

The great problem of feeding and clothing the 
millions depends upon the success of agriculture, 

10 



146 SOILING 

and requires of its followers, a knowledge that em- 
braces a wider and more liberal education than any 
•other pursuit. 

Said the late President Garfield, " At the head 
of all the sciences and arts ; at the head of civili- 
zation and progress, stands, not militarism, the 
science that kills ; not commerce, the art that ac- 
cumulates wealth ; but agricultiwe, the mother of 
all industry, and the maintener of human life." 



CONCLUSION. 147 

CONCLUSION. 

As I look back to the time when I did not , 
practice soiling, and reflect upon the condition of 
my farm then and now, I am greatly encouraged 
to believe, that at no distant day, I shall see the 
fertility of the old farm restored, and again witness 
its fields bountiful in harvest, and its flocks and 
herds greatly increased. Judging from the past, 
the time will soon come when, by soiling summer 
and winter, I shall be able to keep equal to 100 
head of stock upon 50 acres of land, during the en- 
tire year, and devote the other flfty to growing 
grain. 

During the few years that I have practiced soil- 
ing, I have been enabled to treble the number of 
farm stock, where, by pasturing, 12 head was a 
greater number than the farm could profitably sup- 
port. I have also been enabled to double the num- 
ber of acres devoted to crops. This was accom- 
plished by soiling four months during the summer, 
and preserving five and a half acres of ensilage for 
winter feeding. I have never had a sick cow or 
horse since I began the system of soiling, and have 
never lost a sheep or lamb while soiling^ them, nor 
had one sick, from any cause attributable to that 
method of feeding. 

Thus the result, in every respect, has not only 
been most satisfactory, but I think no considera- 
tion would induce me to again pasture my stock 
during the whole season. Nor is my experience 
inconsistent with the statements made by European 
and American writers on the subject. 

I could have no object in presenting this sub- 
ject in other than its true light. 



148 SOILING. 

To others who may begin farming, or who may 
now be occupying farms similar to my own, or to 
any one who has faith in barnyard manure, as the 
best means of enriching the soil, and would be 
glad to obtain it " at a cheap and easy rate" ; to 
the farmer contemplating building new fences or 
repairing old ones ; to the farmer who is about to 
buy more land ; to the possessor of an acre or two 
of land, living near the city or village, who would 
be very glad if he could keep a cow ; to all, I 
should like to say, give the system of soiling a 
thorough trial, and it it does as well by them as it 
has by me and a great many others, I shall feel 
that my efforts in trying to persuade them to 
adopt the system, will merit at least their good 
will and approval. 

And to the young men, particularly farmers' 
sons, to whom this book is dedicated, I wish to 
say, that there is no calling that promises to its 
followers the same pleasing, honorable, and inde- 
pendent life, as intelligent farming. 

Though in some respects unpleasant, and means 
sometimes dirty work, dirty clothes, coarse boots, 
hard, black hands and bronzed faces, and white 
gloves and rose water perfume will not disguise 
the fact that you are " from the rural districts," 
nevertheless you have a guarantee to better health, 
better opportunities for mental improvement, for 
more generous hospitality and social intercourse, 
than in any other livelihood. 

Above all, be intelligent in your business, and 
your situation, if even a humble one, will challenge 
the respect of all whose opinion is worth having. 

The day has gone by, if it ever was in this coun- 
try, when a young man need hang his head be- 
cause of the humbleness of his vocation, if it be a 



CONCLUSION. ' 149 

useful one. Do not leave the farm for a profession 
or clerkship in town, unless you are specially 
adapted by natural tastes and inclinations to follow 
it. Do not throw away the pearl of independence 
for toil unremitting, harrassing- and perplexing, 
in comparison t(. which, work on the farm is a 
pleasure. 

Thousands of men die of broken- hearts, who 
would have lived happily at the plow. 

Thousands more, " look upon the healthful and 
independent calling of a farmer with chagrin." 

" Gen. A. H. S. Dearborn, of Boston, who had 
long been acquainted with the business men of 
that city, gave it as his opinion, that only three 
men, out of every hundred doing business, were 
successful. -x- * ^ * A person who looked 
through the Probate Office of the same city, found 
that ninety per cent, of all estates settled there 
were insolvent. Yet more discouraging to the 
young man who would enter commercial business, 
were the conclusions of Governor Briggs and 
Secretary Calhoun, who a few years ago gave it as 
their deliberate opinion, after diligent inquiry, that 
out ol every hundred young men who came from 
the country to seek their fortunes in the city, nine- 
ty-nine tailed of success." (" Getting On in the 
World," page 305). 

A word to the young men who are, or intend 
to become farmers : If you have chosen farming as 
a profession, I would advise you to graduate at 
some of our Agricultural Colleges, before entering 
upon your life work. I mention this, as it is a 
daily regret with myself, that I left school at a 
very early age, and that I know so little of the 
science of Agriculture, as taught at the present 



150 • SOILING. 

day in nearly every State. If you are to be a 
farmer, you cannot know too much of what per- 
tains to the most approved and scientific methods. 

You have not the virgin soil that your fathers 
had, on which to practice farming, but soil, which 
they, through ignorance, have exhausted, and which 
will now require your utmost skill to redeem. 

Anyone c^n exhaust the soil, but no one but a 
wise man can win it back to its former state of 
productiveness. 

Ever remembering that your plants, like your 
animals, live, feed, grow and die, and, that by feed- 
ing them alike plentifully, they will produce 
bountifully. 

In this respect, it is the liberal hand that maketh 
rich. 



INDEX. 



151 



SUMMER SOILING. 



Advantages of Soiling .... .... .... 

I — Saving of Land, .... .... 

2 — Saving of Fences, .... ... . . . , 

3 — Saving of Food, .... .... .... 

4 — Better Condition and Comfort of Stock,. . .. 

5 — Greater production of Beef, Butter or Milk, 
6 — Increased quantity and quality of Manure, 
7— Increased productiveness of the soil,. . 

Commercial Fertilizers,. ... .... .... .... 

Cost of. .... .... .... .... 

Compared with Stable Manure, .... .... 

Comparative values of Grains and Forage as Animal and 



Plant Food, (tables,) 

Correspondence from Charles Barton,. 

" Charles Francis, 

Conclusion,... .... ... . . 

Cows,. ... .... . . .... 

Absurd Theories, .... . . . 

As a machine, . . .... 

Cost of keeping, (table,) 

Feeding to produce beef, milk or 
Crops for Soiling Cattle, 

Barley 

Common Millet, 

Clover, 

Corn,. .. .... 

Hungarian Grass (Millet,). 

Lucern, .... 

Oats, or Oats and Peas, 

Rye, 

Crops for Soiling Sheep,.. . 

Rape,.. . .... 

Tares (Vetches,) 

Turnips, .... 



,.20, 



22, 



butter 



14. 



Page. 

38 
38 
41 
33 
44 
48 
52 

54 
29 

30 

30. 31 

23, 24 

104 

. . . 100 

147 
.. 16 

17 
I, 13 

18, 19 
15. 16 
38 
62 
69 
66 

63 
69 

67 

65 
61 
96 

97 
96 
98 



152 



Cutting Soiling Crops, ... . 

Reaper for .... 

Drawing green fodder 

Wagon for, ... .... 

Education for Farmers,. . . . 

Feeding Soiling Crops (cattle), 

Caution in feeding,. . 

Racks for feeding, .... 

Objections to racks. 

When and how often to feed, (exampl 
Feeding Soiling Crops (sheep,)., 

Lamb creep, .... 

Moveable racks, 

Rotation of crops, .... 

When and how to feed, 
Feeding Shed for sheep (illustration,). 

Advantages of, .... 

Construction and location, 

Rotation system,. ... 
Hurdling and Folding (sheep,) 

Construction of hurdles,. . 

Portable fencing .... 

Rope and Wire Netting (cost of),.. 
Horses —Soiling, .... .... .... 

Advantages, ... 

Brood Mares and Colts, 
Influence of food, ... 

Economy in feeding 

Improvement of farm stock. 

Origin of different breeds, . . 1 

Reproductive powers of animals, 
Manure, .... ... ... 

Barnyard,.. . .... 

Green Crops as .... 

Liquid Manure, 

Absorbents, 

Application, 

Compared with solid, (table,) 

Saving, .... 

Value .... 

Objections to Soiling, .... 

Extra Labor .... 

Want of exercise,.. . . 
Permanent Pasture, ... .... 

Variety of Grasses for, 



e), 



97. 



I02 



[o6 



Page. 

. 8i 
Si 

82 

82 

.144 

83 
. 83 

83 
. 60 

84 
. 83 

107 
,100 

100 
.102 

107 
.107 

107 
.108 

102 
.103 

104 
.104 

85.90 
. 91 
90 

• 7 
12 

• 9 
8 

. II 

24 

. 25 

25 
. 26 

88 
. 28 

27 
, 27 

27 
. 57 

57 
■ 59 
105 
.105 



153 



Rotation of Soiling Crops, 

Amount of Land required,. . . 

How to begin,.. . .... 

Plowing and fitting the ground 
Roots, .... .... .... 

Beets, 

Cabbage, 

Kohl Rabi, 
Sheep Soiling, 

Advantages, 
Soiling, .... ... 

Why adopted, 
Stables, .... 

Construction, 

Fastnings for cows 

Floor for cows. 

Ventilation of. . 
System,.. . .... 



Page. 

75 

.. 76 

76 

... 77 

71 
... 71 

73 
... 74 

92 
93. 94 

35 
•••35 

87 
134-135 

88 
.... 87 

86 
137 



WINTER SOILING 

Advantages,.. . ... 

Cutting the fodder, .... 

Reaper for .... 
Drawing, .... .... 

Loading and Unloading, 
Feeding Ensilage, 

Compared with hay (table 

Cost of Ensilage (table), . 

Experiment in Feeding, 
Growing crops for Ensilage, 

Amount of seed per acre, 

Method of culture,. .. 

Number of tons per acre. 

Opening Silo, .... 

Pressing or weighting, .... 

Silos,.. . . ... .... 

How to build,.. . .... 

Where to build, 

Soiling Ensilage .... 

Table showing comparative value of Pasturing, 
age and Soiling,. , 



Ensil- 



Page. 

114 
.125 

125 

.125 

126 

.128 
132 

.130 
129 

.123 

125 
. 124 

123 
.127 

126 
.120 

120 

. 135 
136 



121 



137 



D. M. OSBORNE & CO., 



MANUFACTURERS OF 



Mowing and Reaping Machines, 

AUBURisr, isr. y. 



THE INDEPENDENT OSBORNE REAPER. 



The No. 3 Reaper has been an acknowledged leader in Reap- 
ing Machines for very many years. It has many imitators, but no 
equals outside of its own family. It cuts a wider swath than any 
other self-raking reaper, and excels also in its capacity for work. 
It has a strong wrought iron frame with a fiexible bar and inde- 
pendent motion in the axle-plate, giving it great strength and 
perfect adjustment, so that the severest strains in work, do not 
affect its capacity. It is a Front-cut reaper, with the driver's seat 
far enough in the rear to give him perfect oversight of the work- 
ing of the machine. The driver's weight balances the machine, 
and there is no weight upon the necks of the team, nor any side 
draft. 

The Rolling-head Rake is used, and is, undoubtedly, the 
most perfect form of self-rake now made. The four rakes can be 
made to act either as rakes or beaters — any one of them can be 
used to rake off, while the other three reel on the grain. Any 
number of the rakes, from one to all four, may be used to rake off 
or any one or more, may be used to work automatically, without 
any attention from the driver. 

It is admirable for saving lodged and tangled grain, the for- 
ward part of the machine being depressed so that the guards run 
close to the ground, and the rakes following, can reach the worst 
lodged and flattened grain and bring it to the knives. 

It is very light, easily handled and thoroughly durable; well 
adapted for any kind of service — wet or dry, rough or smooth. 

The No. 3 Osborne Reaper has been widely and successfully 
used for cutting all kinds of Green Fodder, for use as Ensilage. 

It handles Green Sowed Corn in a very admirable and satis- 
factory manner. 



ENSILAGE 



STOCK RAISERS, DAIRYMEN, Etc. 




ROSS GIANT AND LITTLE GIANT CUTTERS. 

These Cutters are very heavy, strong and durable ; are 
made from the best of material and best of workmanship, and are 
what they are intended to be, the very best Cutters it is possible 
to build. 

They are expressly intended lor Ensilage, and Stock Raisers 
etc, wishing a good machine. 

They are fitted with our Patent Safety Fly Wheels, Extensi- 
ble Joints, Universal Action Feeding Rollers, Convex-faced 
Gears, Quick Fastenings, Ring Rollers, &c., which relieve the 
cutters from all strain, and prevents breakages, and insures safety 
to operators. Can be driven upon either side. 

The machines cut from 2 to 4 times as rapidly as any other 
make ; require little power to drive, and leaves the fodder in 
splendid condition. 

They are used by the largest Ensilagists in the United States. 

Send for Circular, Price Lists and Testimonials. 

E. W. ROSS & CO., 

FULTON, N. Y. 



AQ^RIOIJIjTtJRAL RTCVIEA^T 

and JOURNAL of the 

American Agricultural Association. 

^Published Q^uarterly, 
(January, April, July and October.) 

The Review is a Magazine of about 200 pages, 
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Subscriptions should be sent to 
JOSEPH H. TEALL, Editor and Publisher, 
26 University Place, . NEW YORK. 



CORH PLANTINB FOR ENSILABE. 



Among the factors most necessary for the profita- 
ble production of Ensilage, none command more 
earnest consideration than the planting of the 
crop from which it is to be made. The first ele- 
ment, and lacking which, others are valueless, is 
the ability to plant the Corn in the best possible 
shape, insuring most abundant and rapid growth. 
This is unquestionably done by planting in drills. 

At the time of planting, putting in the drills Fer- 
tilizers, which will add largely to the natural fertil- 
ity of the soil. After this, the arranging of proper 
distance between the drills is almost as necessary 
to secure pronounced success. 

Both of these results are readily attained by the 
use of the Farmers' Favorite Grain Drill. 




We shall be pleased to answer all inquiries with 
reference to this implement, furnish Circulars, and 
when desired, furnish these Drills to Farmers, un- 
der fullest guarantee of their superiority. 

This Drill is Eminently Superior to all others, 
for ordinary field work, as well as field planting of 
Corn. Address 

BIOKF"OR13 &c HOFFMATsr, 
Patentees and Manufacturers, MACEDON, Wayne Co,, N. Y 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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